Market Report: Prices rising

Since there are relatively few homes for sale nationwide, the prices of the homes that are for sale are going up.

An important home price survey, released in January, showed that home prices nationwide were rising in November 2017.

The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller survey found that national home prices have continued their run up, rising 6.2 percent annually.

That rise is three times faster than the rate of inflation, suggesting that owning a home is a great investment as the home value rises and far outpaces inflation.

How long this combination of low supply and rising prices will last might depend on new home construction. Home builders are ramping up production, but building is still below historical levels for the market.

Meanwhile, there is a lot of demand for homes, encouraged by a robust economy.

Some things have changed since the report on the November market, however. For one thing, historically low mortgage interest rates are up to about 4 percent, which is still very good, and some analysts think rates will rise to 4.5 or even 5 percent during 2018.

All this suggests that it’s a good time for both buying and selling. Sellers will reap the benefits of higher home prices, but buyers will continue to benefit from low mortgage rates.

If your plans include a spring home, now is the time to get in the game.