The State of the Real Estate Market Across the US

Housing mortgages, student loans, automobile loans & credit card debt are the top 4 burdens on the typical US household.

(SALEM, Ore.) - The overall US housing market continues to show declining trends since June 2017. At that point, housing starts were at 1217K, declining to 1190K in July, and 1180K in August.

Analysts were expecting an increase of 1.7%, but declines in the South and the Northeast weighed on figures. The August declines marked the second successive month of declines in the US, following the upward revision to 1190K in July.

The component which displayed the weakest performance was the multi-family market which plunged 5.8% to 323K. There was a 1.6% increase in single-family housing starts, reaching 851K. Housing starts declined in the West by 4% to 312K.

The Portland, Oregon market is part of this housing segment. The sharp rise in the number of building permits issued – up 5.7% to a 1300K annualized rate is significantly higher than market forecasts of 1220K.

Major storms in the US, including Hurricane Harvey, Hurricane Irma, and to a lesser degree Hurricane Maria have been blamed for curtailing housing growth in Texas and the southeast of the United States.

What is the current state of the US housing market?

The jury is out as to whether the US housing market is currently on the decline. Along the West Coast, in places like Santa Clara California, a typical $1 million home can elicit as many as two dozen offers.

Provided Silicon Valley’s high-tech enterprise remains thriving and viable, many investors will continue to flock to the West Coast for high-end property purchases.

The demand/supply paradigm indicates that major high-tech corporations like Google, Facebook, Apple, Twitter, and scores of others will satiate property demand and keep prices high in states like California.

Across the nation, median home prices have steadily been increasing to average out at $258,300 (information supplied by the National Association of Realtors).

Metropolitan districts have enjoyed high levels of property price appreciation, and this is being fueled by inventory levels that are several percentage points lower than the equivalent period in 2016.

We are now 10 years into the future since the global property meltdown rocked financial markets. In the aftermath of the global financial crisis, the spectacular collapse has bottomed out and a gradual and consistent rebuilding has taken place.

Many individuals, corporations and foreign buyers easily accessed lines of credit in the financial markets prior to 2008. Today, banks are less likely to approve bad credit loan applications, but non-bank lenders have stepped in to provide the necessary capital for personal and business loans.

Overall, the level of household debt in the US has increased significantly, to a point where housing mortgages, student loans, automobile loans, and credit card debt are the top 4 burdens on the typical US household. Credit card debt now totals $1 trillion +, and it is fast approaching the debt burden imposed on households by auto loans and student loans.

Portland Oregon Housing Market Protected by Strict Regulation

Many realtors and brokers remain optimistic about markets, and builders are now slowly coming back into the fold. When builders stayed away, the supply of properties was limited and this helped to cause a steady appreciation of housing prices.

In places like Portland, Oregon, strict regulations impose constraints on how much construction activity is possible. This keeps property prices at sustainable levels, and prevents a collapse in the housing market.

The lack of housing also helps the rental market in places like Portland, and this is why we have not seen negative trends in that area.

Source: Salem-News.com Special Features Dept.