Home prices hit fever pitch

Home prices hit fever pitch

U.S. home prices rose to record heights in August, fueled by a combination of not enough homes being built, and the ones that are being built being priced off the market for many would-be buyers.

The price of a single-family home rose an average of 18.1 percent year-over-year in August, the largest increase of that kind since the mid-1970s when the home price index was first recorded, according to data released this week by CoreLogic in Irvine.

Also in August, detached properties went up an average of 19.8 percent from August 2020, compared with a 12 percent year-over-year increase for attached properties.

Between now and next August, the nationwide increase in home prices is expected to slow by 2.2 percent.

“Home prices continue to escalate at a torrid pace as a broad spectrum of buyers drives demand for a limited supply of homes,” said Frank Martell, CoreLogic’s president and chief executive officer. “We expect to see the trend of strong price gains continue indefinitely with large amounts of capital chasing too few assets.”

In the Inland Empire, single-family home prices rose 25.8 percent between August of this year and August 2020, CoreLogic reported.