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SANTA ANA, CA–There's no easy solution to the scarcity of housing, and higher and higher prices are the natural result of a market in which demand outweighs supply, First American Financial Corp.'s chief economist Mark Fleming tells GlobeSt.com. As we recently reported, while the existing-home market is still underperforming its potential, underperformance has improved considerably from a year ago despite rising prices.
Fleming also says rising real house prices are a nationwide phenomenon, since real house prices increased in all 50 states and in every market the firm tracks. Many markets even experienced double-digit real house price increases in March, compared with a year earlier, and the supply in most markets was insufficient for spring's strong demand. However, wages continued to move higher this spring as the labor market continued to improve. “Wage growth has helped to offset the impact that higher mortgage rates and increasing house prices are having on home affordability.”
We spoke with Fleming about how much homeowners' unwillingness to sell has contributed to climbing home prices and how this will impact the rental market for single-family and multifamily housing.
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Carrie Rossenfeld
Carrie Rossenfeld is a reporter for the San Diego and Orange County markets on GlobeSt.com and a contributor to Real Estate Forum. She was a trade-magazine and newsletter editor in New York City before moving to Southern California to become a freelance writer and editor for magazines, books and websites. Rossenfeld has written extensively on topics including commercial real estate, running a medical practice, intellectual-property licensing and giftware. She has edited books about profiting from real estate and has ghostwritten a book about starting a home-based business.
