Median investment home prices are rising thanks to all-cash sales, according to a report from the online real estate investment management firm HomeUnion.
Median investment home prices in April rose 12.5% from a year earlier to $203,000, including both financed and nonfinanced properties. But in the all-cash, nonowner-occupied segment of the market, median prices spiked upward 19.3% year over year to $181,000.
"Uneasiness in the equity markets helped support a surge in investment home prices last month," Steve Hovland, director of research for HomeUnion, said in a news release Tuesday. "Year over year, prices for cash investment sales jumped more than 19% as portfolios were reallocated as investors hedged against stocks."
Owner-occupied home prices increased 5.3% to a median price of $251,900. Overall, total median sales prices rose 8.3% year over year to $234,600.
Hovland added that the possibility of an interest rate hike by the Federal Reserve in June may persuade some folks to expedite their home purchases.
"The potential for rising mortgage rates could compel some buyers to act sooner to secure mortgages prior to the June announcement," he said.
