Purchase

The Colorado Springs-area housing market roared out of the gate in the new year, as strong demand and a historically low supply of homes combined to send sale prices soaring to record highs.

Efforts to move out of the Bay Area continued in recent months, with 16,000 residents packing up and taking to the road for cheaper housing and new opportunities.

Here's a look at 12 cities where home prices are high, but local market conditions make them surprisingly affordable.

If recent corporate expansions at GE, Google and Toyota are any indication, the city that lands Amazon's second headquarters should expect widespread real estate speculation and unrealistic home price expectations that will strain affordability and make it difficult for mortgage lenders to qualify borrowers.

Even as rates hit their highest levels in nearly four years, mortgage application volume increased compared with one week earlier, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Housing sales in the Chattanooga area continued their eight-year climb last year, rising to another record high in 2017 even with higher home prices and fewer houses for sale.

Home prices will continue to increase this year, albeit at a slower pace, as inventory is expected to remain tight and demand will continue to rise.

Churchill Mortgage is building the "preunderwriting" process used to give borrowers a stronger sense of preapproval into its workflow to make financed offers on homes more competitive.

A December hiring spike at nondepository mortgage originators ended a three-month skid and solidified the fourth straight year of job gains in the sector. But with loan volume projected to decline again in 2018, it remains to be seen whether nonbanks will add more workers or start making cuts.

Officials with the Realtors Association of New Mexico said 2017 was another record setting year for the state's housing market.

Baton Rouge, La., area home sales jumped 3.7% in 2017, despite tough comparisons with the sales boost caused by the August 2016 floods.

A measure of contract signings to buy existing homes rose in December for a third month, giving sales some momentum at the start of 2018.

The Palm Beach County, Fla., housing market continued to favor sellers in December, a month when home prices ticked up and inventory remained tight.

Rising rates suppressed total mortgage application activity, which decreased 2.6% from one week earlier, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Rising mortgage rates have taken a toll on refinance lending and extended the lifecycle of existing loans. With new purchase originations also making portfolios larger, servicers must take steps to avoid capacity constraints.

The mortgage industry should expect significant volatility that could result in a wave of lender consolidation in 2018, warns an analyst at risk management technology vendor LoanLogics.

Metro Atlanta's housing market showed its fifth consecutive year of solid gains last year, but the shrinking supply in homes for sale has continued to drop into the red zone.

The only thing that might be colder than Toronto in January is the city's housing market.

Lenders need to be aware of a possible investor backlash as critical defects found in closed loans increased in frequency as the shift continued to a purchase market.

Home prices in 20 U.S. cities increased in November by the most in more than three years, underscoring a lingering scarcity of housing inventory.