The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller 20-city home price index moved up 6.6 percent from a year earlier. Housing price increases in Seattle, Las Vegas and San Francisco were at a double digit clip, the organization said in a release to the Daily Business News.
U.S. home prices rose in April from a year earlier, lifted by bidding wars in many cities where would-be buyers fought over a sparse supply of homes.
“In April, Seattle led the way with a 13.1% year-over-year price increase, followed by Las Vegas with a 12.7% increase and San Francisco with a 10.9% increase. Nine of the 20 cities reported greater price increases in the year ending April 2018 versus the year ending March 2018,” the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller release stated.
“Prices rose even as home sales fell and mortgage rates climbed,” noted Newsmax.
Mortgage rates reached a seven-year high in late May of 4.77 percent, before declining this month. As of last week, the 30-year fixed mortgage rate averaged 4.57 percent, according to Freddie Mac. A year ago, it was 3.9 percent.
“The economy is growing and the unemployment rate is at an 18-year low, which typically would point to stronger home sales,” noted Newsmax.
Analysis by S&P…
“Home prices continued their climb with the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller National Index up 6.4% in the past 12 months,” says David M. Blitzer Managing Director and Chairman of the Index Committee at S&P Dow Jones Indices. “Cities west of the Rocky Mountains continue to lead price increases with Seattle, Las Vegas and San Francisco ranking 1-2-3 based on price movements in the trailing 12 months. The favorable economy and moderate mortgage rates both support recent gains in housing. One factor pushing prices up is the continued low supply of homes for sale. The months-supply is currently 4.3 months, up from levels below 4 months earlier in the year, but still low.”
“Americans are increasingly turning to newly-built homes,” per Newsmax, “where sales jumped 6.7 percent in May. But higher prices and fewer existing homes to choose from are cutting many Americans out of the housing market.”
Manufactured Housing Signficance?
Many of these conditions – such as interest rising rates – are historically those that would lead to an increase in manufactured home sales.
Nevertheless, manufactured home production and sales are still at historically low levels.
In a release to MHProNews, the Manufactured Housing Association for Regulatory Reform (MHARR) attributed some of the woes for the still-low sales level to a lack of effective post-production national industry leadership.
MHARR hailed the start of a new communities focused post-production association.
New Manufactured Home Industry National Association Related Statements
The independent producers association based in Washington, D.C. nevertheless urged that the rest of the industry’s post-production companies should work to organize their own association. That’s a call that award-winning Bob Crawford, president of Dick Moore Housing and others in the retail side of the HUD Code home industry support.
The new MH Communities association, and the call for a new retail post-production association follows comments by MHI award winner, Marty Lavin, who said that the Arlington, VA based trade group only works for the interests of the “big boys.”
Lavin added that MHI is useful for smaller firms only to the extend that a small firm’s need happens to mirror that of a larger company. For more details, see the related reports, linked above and below. (News, analysis, and commentary.)
(Third party images are provided under fair use guidelines.)
Related Reports:
Manufactured Home Communities, Retailers, Developers Face Disruptive, Troubling Trend
The Masthead
A) In manufactured housing production, the elephant in the room is Clayton Homes. They are owned by Berkshire Hathaway, which also owns the 2 largest industry lenders, 21st Mortgage and Vanderbilt Mortgage and Finance (VMF). Berkshire also owns a large stake in the industry’s third largest single family manufactured home loan lender, Wells Fargo.
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