Home prices

“Low inventory has been a consistent problem,” Lawrence Yun, chief economist at the NAR, said in a statement. “With mortgage rates still very close to record lows and a solid job recovery underway, demand will likely remain high.”

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell is dismissing claims that loose monetary policy has led to rising home values and shrinking inventory and insists that the market is buoyed by creditworthy borrowers and investors.

Despite home purchasing power growing for the 14th consecutive month in February, rising property values and mortgage rates are likely to influence would-be sellers to stay put, according to First American.

Property values climbed 12% in February, according to the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller index.

Even in the best-case scenario, it would take 45 years to achieve an equal amount of housing-related capital between Blacks and whites.

Purchases of new single-family homes increased 20.7% last month to a 1.02 million annualized pace after an upwardly revised 846,000 rate in the prior month, government data showed Friday.

“We know that home prices have been rising, mortgage rates inching higher, housing affordability becoming much more challenging, however I would say the softening sales activity is not due to demand going away,” Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist.

The busiest season for home buying took off with a bang last month, as fierce competition among buyers drove prices up and sales soared to one of the highest levels in years.

At the metro level, Buffalo, N.Y., had the worst undervaluation for Black-owned homes at 86% followed by 72% in both Memphis, Tenn., and Indianapolis, Redfin found.

As listings were snagged at near-record speed, inventory hit yet another new low point, according to Remax.