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ยป VISIT US ONLINE @ DSNEWS.COM 27 " Rising demand has generated rapid house price appreciation for starter homes. When a wave of potential first-time home buyer demand is met with low supply, the result is declining affordability." prices nationally continue to grow, albeit at a slower pace in 2019. e next highest-rated obstacles to becoming a homeowner were the limited inventory of homes they like (30%) and down payment (22%). e main burden, affordability, confirms the strong sellers' market conditions from 2018 have continued in many markets in early 2019, as demand outpaces supply and prices continue to rise. However, thanks to rising house-buying power driven by lower mortgage rates and increasing wages, affordability improved in 43 of the 44 markets we track in our Real House Price Index in April compared with the previous month, and affordability improved in 18 markets on a year-over-year basis. e markets which saw the most affordability growth on an annual basis were: San Jose, California; Seattle; Portland, Oregon; San Francisco; and Los Angeles. ese markets benefited from low mortgage rates and increasing income, but also saw a slowdown in house price appreciation and an increase in inventory. WHAT DOES YOUR DAY-TO-DAY ROLE LOOK LIKE AS DEPUTY CHIEF ECONOMIST AT FIRST AMERICAN? I certainly wear many hats. I start my day very early on the commute to the office by keeping a pulse on housing and economic news and engage in social media discourse with my fellow housing economists and other economic experts. e rest of my day usually consists of working with data to identify interesting insights about the housing market, writing up those conclusions and translating them into data visualization graphics, and responding to questions from national, regional, and industry trade media. It's my personal mission and passion to help people understand housing, mortgage markets, and the economy at large. DS News is the leading publication dedicated to providing default servicing professionals with news and content focused on their industry. SUBSCRIBE TO THE LEADER IN DEFAULT SERVICING NEWS SUBSCRIBE NOW! Call 214.525.6700 or connect with us online at DSNews.com.