Multi Housing News August 2012 : Page 17
CPI vs. Rent Percentage Change Month-over-Month 8.0% 6.0% 4.0% 2.0% Rent 1.8% CPI 3.3% Existing Condo Median Sales Price $200,000 $175,000 Price Rent 2.6% $165,500 $172,900 $150,000 CPI 0.4% 0.0% -2.0% May Jun. Jul. Aug. Sep. Oct. Nov. Dec. Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr. ’11 ’12 $125,000 May Jun. Jul. Aug. Sep. Oct. Nov. Dec. Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr. ’11 ’12 CPI vs. Rent: Housing costs, as measured by the shelter index, continued their gradual march higher by climbing 0.2 percent for the tenth time in the past 11 months, and increasing a modest 2.2 percent compared to April 2011. With prices for single-family hous-ing beginning to stabilize, rental costs have become a point of focus as households make the decision to own or rent, and as available apartments have become more scarce in recent quarters. NAHB’s measure of real rental rates is constructed from the CPI for rent of primary residences and overall CPI. This index increased 2.1 percent on an annualized basis in April, and registered its fi rst year-over-year increase since October 2009. Relatively stronger increases in energy prices had masked the impact of rising rental rates, but declining prices across much of the energy complex could foster stronger gains in real rents. Existing Condo Median Price: According to the National Association of Realtors, the seasonally adjusted annualized rate of condominium and co-op sales rose 6 percent from March to 530,000 units. On a year-over-year basis, sales climbed 10.4 percent and have averaged nearly 525,000 units through the fi rst four months of 2012. This marks the strongest four-month average pace in more than a year. The (sea-sonally adjusted) median sales price for existing condos and co-ops surged to more than $175,000 during April, which represented the highest reported price level in two years—a period in which prices were bolstered by the federal government’s homebuyer tax credit. MHN ONLINE Source: Commentary and Data supplied by Brian Lego, the National Association of Home Builders For more market statistics and reports, visit www.multi-housingnews.com Brian Lego is a senior economist at the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB). His responsibilities include producing forecasts of housing data for state and metropolitan areas, as well as providing analy-ses of various economic and demographic issues that affect the U.S. housing market. Lego has been an economist for more than 10 years, with prior stops as the Director of Economic Analysis for NEMA and as an Economist for Moody’s Economy.com. Market Pulse section compiled by Keat Foong, executive editor. To comment, email kfoong@multi-housingnews.com www.multi-housingnews.com | August 2012 17
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