Blech.
The good news of the report is that the average price for a single-family home in Arkansas rose almost 4% in September to $145,690 from $140,534 and, at least for this far in the year, 2010 numbers have remained pretty-much unchanged. In other words, it ain’t pretty but we’re holding our own.
We at the ARA attribute the 4 percent increase in average home prices in part to Arkansas’s strong economy. The Brookings Institution's MetroMonitor, a quarterly, interactive barometer of the health of America’s 100 largest metropolitan economies, recently ranked the Little Rock region the nation's fourth strongest. The Brookings Institution ranked the 100 largest metros by averaging the ranks for four key indicators: employment change, unemployment change, gross metropolitan product, and home price change.
Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think we are out of the woods yet by a long shot. All the economists I’ve heard from and Realtors® I’ve spoken to anticipate it being months before we are seeing strong home sales numbers again – as in next spring. Or summer.
However, despite economic uncertainty and recent challenges in the real estate market, nearly eight out of 10 Americans believe buying a home makes good financial sense. This is according to a recent annual survey released by the National Association of Realtors®. The 2010 National Housing Pulse Survey measures how affordable housing issues affect consumers.
Predictably, job security concerns were among the highest in eight years of sampling. A majority of Americans said layoffs and unemployment are top concerns in their area and eight in 10 say those issues are barriers to homeownership. The Arkansas Realtors® Association also cites job security as one of the main obstacles for consumers who are considering whether to buy, although homeownership is still a worthy long-term investment.
“There is no doubt that job recovery is needed to get the economy and the real estate market back on track,” said Mike Henry, President of the Arkansas Realtors® Association. “However, despite employment concerns, Americans continue to believe that owning a home is part of the American Dream, and it is a dream they still strive to achieve. Homeownership has proven to offer many social benefits and build wealth over the long term.”
We here at the ARA think historically low interest rates and affordable home prices are attracting buyers to today’s housing market. According to the survey, more than one-fourth of renters say they are more serious about purchasing a home than they were a year ago. In addition, 63 percent of renter respondents say owning a home is a priority in their future, and nearly 40 percent say it is one of their highest priorities.
Despite attractive prices and low rates, a majority of Americans, 79 percent, consider having enough money for down payment and closing costs to be among the biggest obstacles to owning a home. Survey respondents are also concerned about their ability to be approved for a loan.
“When deciding whether to buy a home, buyers should carefully evaluate their finances and get preapproved for a loan before beginning the search process,” said Henry who is also a Realtor® with Coldwell Banker Faucette-Fay in Fayetteville. “Realtors® are a valuable source of information about the costs associated with buying and owning a home and can help consumers navigate the increasingly complex buying process.”
The 2010 National Housing Pulse Survey is conducted by American Strategies and Myers Research & Strategic Services for NAR’s Housing Opportunity Program. The telephone survey was among 1,209 adults living in the 25 most populous metropolitan statistical areas. The study has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.
House to House is written by Amy Glover Bryant and distributed by the Arkansas Realtors® Association.
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