Expect more from the Midwest real estate market as it heats up and outpaces the rest of the nation, according to Clear Capital’s Home Data Index Market Report, which looked at data through December 2014.
Price growth in the Midwest is expected to outpace the rest of the country in all tiers by 1.6 percentage points in 2015 — nearly double that of the national average, according to Clear Capital’s forecasts.
Several metro areas in the Midwest are projected to see some of the largest price growths over the next year. Ohio is leading the pack with the highest number of metros in Clear Capital’s forecast. Columbus, Dayton, Cleveland, and Cincinnati are expected to see price growth from 2.2 percent to 4.5 percent this year. In Dayton, median home prices surged 16.5 percent in 2014 year-over-year. That’s a big jump, considering the metro area saw a price drop of 2.3 percent one year ago.
Still, the Western region of the U.S. continued to outshine the other three regions with an 8.7 percent price growth at the end of 2014, Clear Capital notes. But that’s more than a 10 percentage point drop from the 18.9 percent growth the region saw in 2013. The Midwest, showing strong gains recently, posted a 7.7 percent price growth year-over-year as of December 2014, while the South followed at 6 percent and the Northeast at 2.9 percent.
“Overall, 2014 was a good year, with prices up virtually across the board, though the rate of price growth has declined consistently since the year began,” says Alex Villacorata, vice president of research and analytics at Clear Capital. “As we turn the calendar, we expect this trend to continue. Nearly all markets have experienced significant turbulence over the last decade and are only now showing signs of stabilization. This stabilization is likely to persist through the first half of the year until the market’s recovery strength can again be measured going into the traditional buying season.
Top 10 Major Metro Markets
According to Clear Capital’s latest report, here are the 10 major metros poised for the highest price gains in 2015.
- Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis, Wis.
Year-over-year: 5.8%
2015 forecast: 4.9% - Columbus, Ohio
Year-over-year: 9.7%
2015 forecast: 4.5% - Denver-Aurora, Colo.
Year-over-year: 9.7%
2015 forecast: 4% - Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, Texas
Year-over-year: 9.1%
2015 forecast: 3.9% - Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta, Ga.
Year-over-year: 12.6%
2015 forecast: 3.3% - Chicago-Naperville-Joliet, Ill.-Ind.-Wis.
Year-over-year: 8.5%
2015 forecast: 3.1% - Orlando, Fla.
Year-over-year: 8.2%
2015 forecast: 2.6% - Dayton, Ohio
Year-over-year: 9.7%
2015 forecast: 2.6% - Sacramento-Arden-Arcade-Roseville, Calif.
Year-over-year: 9.3%
2015 forecast: 2.5% - Cleveland-Elyria-Mento, Ohio
Year-over-year: 7.9%
2015 forecast: 2.5%
Source: Clear Capital
