Clear Capital: Home Price Gains Slow Slightly

Clear Capital, Reno, Nev., said home price growth dipped slightly in the first quarter as growth in the West well outpaced the rest of the country.

The company’s Home Data Index Market Report said nationally, quarterly growth slowed slightly to 0.8% from 0.9 percent. But the report points out what Clear Capital calls a “growing regional divide,” as growth in the West (1.2%) outperformed other regions.

The West continues to pace the nation thanks to high levels of growth in the Pacific Northwest, the Sacramento Valley and Arizona. Of the top 15 metros, nine are in the West region. San Jose has begun to see growth accelerate, entering the top 15 with 1.3% growth, despite a meager 3.7% growth rate since this time last year.

By contrast, the South (0.6%), Northeast (1.0%) and Midwest (0.5%) saw slower growth.

At the metro level, Florida cities Jacksonville, Orlando and Tampa all experienced a boost in domestic migration from 2015 to 2016, which contributed to double-digit year-over-year home price growth, as well as declining distressed saturation rates. With this leap, Jacksonville steps up to become the fastest growing major metropolitan housing market in the country, with its quarter-over-quarter home price growth jumping to 2%.

Despite this turnaround and the contributions of the Florida markets, the South’s growth has been stalled by Virginia Beach, Baltimore, Houston, New Orleans, Louisville and Birmingham, all of which have grown by less than 0.6%.

In the Midwest, Clear Capital said Chicago has begun to heat up, jumping into the top three in quarterly growth at 1.7% (up from 1.5%). The report said Chicago, despite having a declining population in 2016 and 20% distressed saturation, is one of only seven metros to achieve double-digit yearly growth.