Dive Brief:
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Home values are rising more in communities whose residents have high incomes and access to credit, a survey by Pro Teck Valuation Services revealed.
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The report uses three Seattle neighborhoods as examples because the city lists lowest on Pro Teck’s Home Value Forecast for home inventory but highest for average selling price. Homes in Bellevue, an affluent community, sell for almost twice the city’s average price. Prices of residential property in Carnation are outperforming the city’s average, thanks to an influx of high-income residents. But homes in Auburn, the lowest-income community of the three, sell for half the citywide average.
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Pro Teck CEO Tom O’Grady said in a press release that lower down payment requirements announced last week by federal housing regulators could make mortgages “more accessible for individuals with less than stellar credit. … This should have a positive impact on communities with lower incomes.”
Dive Insight:
At the top of ProTeck’s list of cities with good housing market conditions are: Houston; Oak Harbor, WA; San Antonio, Seattle; and Bremerton, WA. At the bottom of the list are: Madison, WI; Scranton, PA; Gary, IN; Detroit; and Jacksonville, NC.