The rapidly rising home prices currently found in many parts of the United States make it seem like the Great Recession of 2008 never happened. It took approximately eight years for home prices to recover the values that were equivalent to those they had before the recession.
After reaching this point of recovery, since around 2016, real estate prices have been going up very quickly in many cities.
The Best Recovered Housing Markets
Here are the fully-recovered housing markets analyzed by ATTOM data service for the second quarter of 2019 that have exceeded the peak valuations from before the recession.
This list of winners shows the percentage that they are now above their pre-2008 peaks:
- Greeley, Colorado (87% up)
- Shreveport, Louisiana (81% up)
- Denver, Colorado (80% up)
- Austin, Texas (77% up)
- Fort Collins, Colorado (76% up)
- Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas (72% up)
- Nashville, Tennessee (71% up)
- San Antonio, Texas (58% up)
- Houston, Texas (54% up)
- San Jose, California (54% up)
It took quite a while for homes to have this much appreciation in value, which in most cases meant that the homes, first, had to increase significantly to overcome the lowered values from pre-recession peaks.
Homeowners Waiting Longer To Sell
Homeowners, who were wise and able, waited for this to occur. This accounts for the median of eight years that homeowners waited before selling now. Before the Great Recession, the median holding period for selling a home was only four years after purchase.
Homeowners who were able to hang on to their homes after the Great Recession hit, and then ride it out until now, are, in general, being rewarded for waiting to sell.
The Hottest Markets For American Cities
Most American cities are hot real estate markets. The appreciation rate for annual increases is up 89% of all the metro market areas.
Cities showing the greatest annual appreciation rates are:
- Atlantic City, New Jersey (16% increase)
- Boise City, Idaho (14% increase)
- Chattanooga, Tennessee (13% increase)
- Mobile, Alabama (11% increase)
- Madison, Wisconsin (11% increase)
- Milwaukee, Wisconsin (9% increase)
- Boston, Massachusetts (9% increase)
- Salt Lake City, Utah (9 % increase)
- Columbus, Ohio (8 % increase)
- Birmingham, Alabama (6% increase)
Summary
Whether this a continuing boom or an early indication of another real estate bubble that might eventually burst is anyone’s guess. It is a decent time to sell if selling a home is in the plans. It is a more challenging time for home buyers. However, the one thing the Great Recession taught us all is that housing prices do not always go up.
If you are in the market for a new home or interested in refinancing your current property, please consult with your trusted home mortgage professional.
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About the Author:
Babak Moghaddam graduated from University of Southern California in 1985. He entered the mortgage industry as a compliance auditor at the Bank of New York in 1986 and completed his masters in Business Administration two years later. After seventeen years in the traditional mortgage banking world Babak finally transformed this vision into his own practice in 2002 when he formed Charter Pacific Lending Corp, a mortgage company that has provided over $900 Million in residential real estate loans throughout Southern California. Babak and his team do things a little differently than other mortgage providers. They work as financial advisors, because they have come to realize that a mortgage is a very powerful financial tool. And just like any other financial tool, it should be managed as part of the overall financial management plan to reach every home owner’s long and short-term financial goals much faster. You can contact Babak for a free consultation and strategy session at (800) 322-1217 X103.