Should You Buy a House Right Now?
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2020 was a record-breaking year for the housing market as people decided to step away from their urban apartments in the city and move to suburban neighborhoods.
Last summer housing prices were driven by stay-at-home orders, record low supply, and record low mortgage rates.
The opportunity to work from home allowed people to reconsider their living space and seek a home that offered the space.
Many had predicted that the price gains would eventually slow down but it did the complete opposite.
Standard & Poor’s said Tuesday that its S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller national home price index posted a 10.4% annual gain in December, up from 9.5% in November — the fastest growth rate since 2013.
Meaning that the housing price continued to accelerate for the final month of 2020 since 2013.
These numbers present how eager people still are to pay higher prices to move and find a space.
“Home prices finished 2020 with double-digit gains. The trend of accelerating prices that began in June 2020 has now reached its seventh month,” said Craig J. Lazzara, managing director and global head of index investment strategy at S&P Dow Jones Indices.
The decline in mortgage rates for the month of December help many expand the affordability for some buyers which allowed them to bid higher than they would have had the rates been higher.
According to CNN, “The housing market strength is helping to lift the prices of lumber too, which has also boosted Home Depot.”
Home Depot, Lowes, and forestry companies have benefited from soaring lumber prices.
This could mean that the housing boom isn’t about to end just yet and that people are not at all concerned with high prices.
CoreLogic Deputy Chief Economist Selma Hepp stated, “In looking ahead to 2021, pressure on home prices will likely remain strong until either mortgage rates increase or more homes are available for sale.”
Given the uncertainty of last year, questions and concerns still arise surrounding when those mortgage rates increase.
“However, significant uncertainty remains with respect to the course of the…
