Trulia Price Monitor: Hottest Housing Markets Cool, While Warm Markets Heat Up

Home Buyers Face Pricier Housing Market Going Into 2014 As Asking Prices Soar Higher Than Rents

SAN FRANCISCO--()--Trulia, Inc. (NYSE: TRLA), a leading online marketplace for home buyers, sellers, renters, and real estate professionals, today released the latest findings from the Trulia Price Monitor and the Trulia Rent Monitor. These indices are the earliest leading indicators available of trends in home prices and rents. Based on for-sale homes and rentals listed on Trulia, the monitors take into account changes in the mix of listed homes and reflect trends in prices and rents for similar homes in similar neighborhoods through November 30, 2013. For the full report and methodology, see here.

Nationally, Asking Prices Up 12.1 Percent From One Year Ago

In November, asking home prices rose 12.1 percent year-over-year (Y-o-Y), increasing in 98 of the 100 largest U.S. metro areas. Regaining a bit of steam since the slowdown began in July, asking prices rose 1.0 percent month-over-month (M-o-M) and 3.0 percent quarter-over-quarter (Q-o-Q). In fact, the quarterly increase is the fastest in five months, though still lower than in the spring.

November 2013 Trulia Price Monitor Summary
   

Percent change in

    # of 100 largest    

Percent change in asking

asking prices metros with asking-

prices, excluding

            price increases    

foreclosures

Month-over-month, seasonally adjusted

    1.0%     Not reported     0.6%

Quarter-over-quarter, seasonally adjusted

    3.0%     88     2.4%

Year-over-year

    12.1%     98     11.9%

*M-o-M change is November versus October. Q-o-Q and Y-o-Y changes are three-month averages. Data from previous months are revised each month, so data being reported now for previous months might differ from previously reported data.

 

Price Gains Slowing Sharply in Hottest Markets: Las Vegas and Oakland

The slowing of asking home price gains is most apparent in the housing markets with the biggest price rebounds. The slowdown – measured as the difference in the Q-o-Q price changes between November and August – was more than two percentage points in Las Vegas, Oakland, Atlanta, Phoenix, Detroit, and Los Angeles.

Where Asking Prices Are Slowing Most Among Hottest Markets

#

    U.S. Metro    

Y-o-Y percent change,

   

Q-o-Q percent change,

   

Q-o-Q percent change,

    Price slowdown =
Nov 2013 Nov 2013 Aug 2013

Difference in Q-o-Q percent change,

 

                            November minus August
1    

Las Vegas, NV

    28.2%     1.9%     8.9%     -7.0%
2    

Oakland, CA

    27.1%     1.1%     4.7%     -3.6%
3    

Atlanta, GA

    19.0%     3.5%     7.0%     -3.5%
4    

Phoenix, AZ

    17.1%     1.9%     4.5%     -2.7%
5    

Detroit, MI

    22.9%     4.0%     6.7%     -2.6%
6    

Los Angeles, CA

    22.4%     3.1%     5.4%     -2.2%
* The final column equals the difference between the third and second data columns, but the numbers might not appear to add up due to rounding.
 

Price Gains Accelerate in Warm Markets

The price slowdown happening nationally is really a sharp deceleration in price gains in the hottest markets. Among the 100 U.S. largest metros, the quarterly price increase in the 10 metros where prices rose more than 20 percent Y-o-Y fell from 6.1 percent in August to 3.7 percent in November. But in the 56 markets where prices rose by less than 10 percent Y-o-Y, price gains actually accelerated in the most recent quarter, rising 1.6 percent in November compared with 1.3 percent in August. Prices accelerated in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and Miami, for instance.

Where Asking Prices Are Accelerating and Decelerating
   

Q-o-Q percent change,

   

Q-o-Q percent change,

      Aug 2013     Nov 2013

Hottest Housing Markets

(Markets where prices up > = 20 percent Y-o-Y)

    6.1%     3.7%
Hot Housing Markets

(Markets where prices up 10-20 percent Y-o-Y)

    3.8%     2.9%
Warm Housing Markets

(Markets where prices up 10 percent Y-o-Y)

    1.3%     1.6%
 

Asking Home Prices Outpace Rents, Despite Price Slowdown in Hottest Markets

Rents climbed 3.0 percent Y-o-Y nationally in November. Among the 25 largest rental markets, rents are soaring fastest in San Francisco, Portland, and Seattle, while falling slightly in Washington D.C. and Philadelphia. But despite the slowdown in asking prices, rent gains were outpaced by price gains in the 25 largest rental markets. Even in San Francisco, where rents galloped ahead by 12.0 percent Y-o-Y, asking prices rose faster, at 15.2 percent. With rents continuing to rise more slowly than prices, buying a home is becoming less affordable relative to renting.

Where Rents Rose Most
#     U.S. Metro    

Y-o-Y percent change in rents,

   

Y-o-Y percent change in asking

            Nov 2013     home prices, Nov 2013
1    

San Francisco, CA

    12.0%     15.2%
2    

Portland, OR-WA

    10.0%     16.3%
3    

Seattle, WA

    9.8%     14.9%
4    

San Diego, CA

    9.6%     19.2%
5    

Miami, FL

    7.3%     15.1%
NOTE: Among 25 largest rental markets.
 

PRE-APPROVED QUOTES:

  • “The price slowdown – like everything about housing – is all local,” said Jed Kolko, Trulia’s Chief Economist. “Price gains are cooling in 2013’s hottest markets, like Las Vegas and Oakland, but heating up in markets that haven’t been in the limelight.”
  • “Homebuying is much less affordable at the end of 2013 than at the start,” said Jed Kolko, Trulia’s Chief Economist. “Prices rose faster than rents in all of the largest metros, even in San Francisco and Portland, where rents rose 10 percent or more in the past year. Higher prices, along with higher mortgage rates, could make renting a better deal than buying in some markets in 2014.”

MULTIMEDIA

METHODOLOGY

To view the full methodology and 2013 release schedule, see here. The next release of the Trulia Price Monitor and the Trulia Rent Monitor will be Thursday, January 9, 2014.

ABOUT TRULIA, INC.

Trulia (NYSE: TRLA) gives home buyers, sellers, owners, and renters the inside scoop on properties, places, and real estate professionals. Trulia has unique info on the areas people want to live that can't be found anywhere else: users can learn about agents, neighborhoods, schools, crime, commute times, and even ask the local community questionsReal estate professionals use Trulia to connect with millions of transaction-ready buyers and sellers each month via our hyperlocal advertising services, social recommendations, and top-rated mobile real estate apps. Trulia’s Market Leader subsidiary delivers the leading end-to-end technology and marketing solutions that enable real estate professionals to grow and manage their businesses. Trulia is headquartered in downtown San Francisco. Trulia is a registered trademark of Trulia, Inc.

Contacts

Trulia, Inc.
Daisy Kong, 415-400-7391
pr@trulia.com

Release Summary

The slowing of asking home price gains is most apparent in the housing markets with the biggest price rebounds, such as Las Vegas and Oakland. Meanwhile, prices are accelerating everywhere else.

Contacts

Trulia, Inc.
Daisy Kong, 415-400-7391
pr@trulia.com