By Jann Swanson | Mortgage News Daily
Home prices rose another 1.1 percent in November according to the CoreLogic report on its Home Price Index. The year-over-year gain was 8.2 percent, accelerating from the annual increase of 7.3 percent posted for October.
The company said that home price growth remained consistently elevated throughout last year. Home sales are expected to finish the year above their 2019 levels. Meanwhile, the availability of homes for sale has dwindled with increased demand as the pandemic deterred some potential home sellers from putting their homes on the market.
While the pandemic has created a lot of financial insecurity, those households which maintained employment and income stability have also been incentivized by the record low rates to buy. This has further increased demand. The rise in home prices is increasing downpayment requirements and exacerbating affordability issues, leaving lower-income families renting and priced-out of the home-purchase market.
