SAN FRANCISCO, March 21, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Trulia®, a
leading destination for homebuyers and renters, today launched
the Trulia Inventory and Price Watch. This new quarterly report
offers buyers and sellers deeper insight into the supply and
affordability of homes within three different segments: starter
homes, trade-up homes and premium homes. Based on the for-sale
homes listed on Trulia, this report calculates housing inventory
within each segment nationally and in the 100 largest U.S. metros,
from January 1, 2012 to March 1, 2016. For the full report and
methodology, see here.
Nationally, Starter and Trade-Up Home Inventory Down More
Than 40% Since 2012
Heading into the spring house-hunting
season, inventory remains tight and affordability continues to
worsen. The number of starter and trade-up homes on the market
nationwide has dropped by 43.6% and 41.0%, respectively. Meanwhile,
buyers will need to spend between 2-6% more of their income towards
a home purchase than in 2012. In turn, this builds a higher barrier
to entry for first-time buyers to become homeowners, and for
existing homeowners to trade up – thus creating gridlock between
housing segments.
|
National Inventory
and Price Watch
|
|
Housing
Segment
|
2016 Q1
Inventory
|
Change, 2012 Q1 –
2016 Q1
|
|
Median List
Price
|
Share
|
Inventory
|
% of Income
Needed to
Buy Home
|
% Change
in Median
List Price
|
Percentage
Point Change
in Share
|
% Change in
Inventory
|
Additional Share
of
Income Needed to
Buy Home
(Percentage Point
Change)
|
|
Starter
|
$154,156
|
27.7%
|
238,461
|
37.7%
|
31.8%
|
-2.5% pts
|
-43.6%
|
+5.6% pts
|
|
Trade Up
|
$267,845
|
26.1%
|
224,609
|
24.9%
|
23.5%
|
-1.1% pts
|
-41.0%
|
+2.6% pts
|
|
Premium
|
$542,805
|
46.2%
|
397,799
|
13.4%
|
20.3%
|
+3.5% pts
|
-33.4%
|
+1.4% pts
|
|
Note: National
numbers based on 100 largest U.S. metros. Median price for each
segment is the stock-weighted average of the median price of each
segment in each metro. Share is the percent of for-sale homes that
fall into each segment, which is defined separately for each
metro.
|
Starter Home Inventory Drops Most in South and
West
Since 2012, the number of starter homes has decreased
in 95 of the 100 largest U.S. metros. Housing markets in the South
and West experienced the biggest drops. For instance, starter home
inventory has fallen the most in Salt
Lake City, from 1,243 to just 151, which is an 87.9% drop in
four years.
|
Markets with
Largest Decrease in Starter Homes
|
|
U.S. Metro
|
Starter Home
Inventory, 2012 Q1
|
Starter Home
Inventory, 2016 Q1
|
% Change
|
|
Salt Lake City,
UT
|
1,243
|
151
|
-87.9%
|
|
San Antonio,
TX
|
3,097
|
426
|
-86.2%
|
|
Austin, TX
|
1,927
|
329
|
-82.9%
|
|
San Diego,
CA
|
4,415
|
864
|
-80.4%
|
|
Nashville,
TN
|
3,383
|
694
|
-79.5%
|
|
Note: Among 100
largest U.S. metros, see here.
|
Starter Home Affordability Worsens in California
Strong job growth, tight
inventory and rising prices in California have led to the largest drop in
starter-home affordability in the nation during the period covered.
For instance, starter-home buyers in Oakland would have to spend nearly 70% of
their median income to afford a 30-year fixed rate mortgage on a
starter home, which is 29% more of their income than in 2012.
Meanwhile, affordable starter homes are non-existent in
San Francisco. As a result, buyers
are increasingly looking down the housing ladder. Trade-up buyers
are turning their attention to smaller, less expensive homes in the
starter home category, thus inflating prices past what's affordable
for true starter-home buyers.
|
Markets with
Largest Decrease in Starter Home Affordability
|
|
U.S. Metro
|
Median Starter
Home List
Price, 2016 Q1
|
% of Income
Needed
to Buy Starter Home,
2016 Q1
|
Additional Share of
Income
Needed to Buy Starter Home in
2016 Q1 vs. 2012 Q1
|
|
Oakland,
CA
|
$374,000
|
69.2%
|
+29.0% pt
|
|
Los Angeles,
CA
|
$329,000
|
88.1%
|
+28.2% pt
|
|
San Jose,
CA
|
$585,713
|
86.7%
|
+26.6% pt
|
|
San Francisco,
CA
|
$714,000
|
110.5%
|
+24.7% pt
|
|
Sacramento,
CA
|
$217,900
|
54.3%
|
+23.3% pt
|
|
Note: Among 100
largest U.S. metros, see here.
|
QUOTES FROM TRULIA'S CHIEF ECONOMIST RALPH MCLAUGHLIN:
- "If inventory continues to shrink throughout the spring house
hunting season, buyers will likely be faced with more bidding wars
and offers above the seller's asking price. Meanwhile, sellers will
be better positioned to sell their homes than in years past, but
may have difficulty finding another home to buy."
- "Rising prices are creating homebuyer gridlock. As the price of
premium homes goes up, owners of trade-up homes are less likely to
sell their current home and buy a premium home, thus further
limiting the stock of trade-up homes."
2016 RELEASE SCHEDULE
|
Report
|
Release
Date
|
|
Q2 (April – June)
2016
|
Tuesday, June, 21,
2016
|
|
Q3 (July – September)
2016
|
Wednesday, September,
21, 2016
|
|
Q4 (October –
December) 2016
|
Tuesday, December,
13, 2016
|
About Trulia
Trulia® is a vibrant home shopping
marketplace, focused on giving homebuyers, sellers and renters the
information they need to make better decisions. On mobile and the
Web, Trulia provides house hunters with insights and unique
information about properties, neighborhoods and real estate agents.
Additionally, Trulia offers data and information about schools,
crimes, commute times, and the real estate market.
Launched in 2005, Trulia is based in San Francisco and is owned and operated by
Zillow Group (NASDAQ: Z and ZG).
Trulia is a registered trademark of Trulia, LLC.
MEDIA CONTACT:
Daisy
Kong
pr@trulia.com
415-400-7391
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SOURCE Trulia