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39 » VISIT US ONLINE @ DSNEWS.COM LARGEST METROS OVERVALUED Home prices across the United States increased by 6.6 percent on a year over year basis in January 2018 according to the monthly CoreLogic Home Price Index. On a month- over-month basis, the home prices rose 0.5 percent between December 2017 and January 2018. e monthly report provides an early indication of home price trends and projects HPI levels for single-family homes excluding distressed sales and covers national, state, and metro level data such as home price indices, home price forecast and market condition indicators. Nationally, the report forecasted a home price growth of 4.8 percent on an annual basis, while home prices were expected to remain flat between January and February 2018. e effects of rising home prices are being felt the most in the affordable home segment, according to Frank Nothaft, Chief Economist at CoreLogic. "Entry-level homes have been in particularly short supply, leading to more rapid home-price growth compared with more expensive homes," he said. "Homes with a purchase price less than 75 percent of the local area median had price growth of 9 percent during the year ending January 2018." Four states experienced double-digit increases in home prices in January according to the report. While home prices in Washington grew 12.1 percent, Nevada clocked a growth of 11.3 percent followed by 10.8 percent in Utah, and 10.3 percent in Idaho. e data also indicated that half of the 50 largest metro areas covered by CoreLogic for this report were overvalued. e report said, 48 percent were overvalued, 14 percent were undervalued and 38 percent were at value. "CoreLogic has identified nearly one- half of the 50 largest metropolitan areas as overvalued. Millennials who are looking to become first-time homeowners find it particularly challenging to find an affordable home in these areas," said Frank Martell, President, and CEO of CoreLogic. "Our projections continue to show tightness in the entry-level market for the foreseeable future, which could further prevent millennials from purchasing homes in 2018 and 2019, even as much of that generation reaches its prime home-buying years". Of the largest metros that showed a price rise, Las Vegas led the way in home price rise with a growth of 11.7 percent year over year, followed by San Francisco with a growth of 10.2 percent. Denver with 8.4 percent growth was followed by San Diego and Los Angeles that grew at 7.9 percent and 7.8 percent respectively. COURTS WEIGH IN ON AFFORDABLE HOUSING STRUGGLE Across the nation, consumers are looking for answers regarding the shortage of available homes. In San Francisco, start-up company Boxouse is transforming shipping containers into residences as part of the tiny homes trend. In New York, some adults are harking back to their college days by living in dorms meant for professionals who desire communal living to cut-down on costs. Now, some New Jersey residents are pushing back against the affordability problem in another way—by asking the court system to outline affordable housing requirements. According to GOVERNING, a Mercer County Judge Mary Jacobson recently ordered the municipalities of Princeton and West Windsor to add 155,000 affordable housing units by 2025. "Lower-income households are not going to be excluded in the way that lots of wealthy towns hope to," Kevin Walsh, executive director of the Fair Share Housing Center, told GOVERNING. Judge Jacobson's ruling is part of a broader movement in the state to address housing inequality. In 2015, the Supreme Court of New Jersey ordered municipalities that hadn't met their lower- and middle-income housing requirements to submit plans to do so. According to GOVERNING, there are still 100 municipalities that haven't fulfilled their obligations. Earlier in the year, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy encouraged developers to submit proposals to help extremely low-income individual and families with special needs and announced a grant of $5,599,220 in National Housing Trust Fund dollars to support approved projects. While we'll need to wait and see if other municipalities follow the precedent, Judge Jacobson set, it's clear that housing affordability is a hot topic. Recently, Fannie Mae added to the discussion by announcing the formation of an Expert Advisory Panel to address the issue. "Affordable housing is not an isolated issue. It requires a broad set of solutions and dedicated individuals," said Maria Evans, VP, Sustainable Communities Partnership and Innovation. "We have brought together a stellar group of experts representing a diverse range of backgrounds and industries. All will bring an important perspective to the panel that will take us one step closer to improve access to affordable, sustainable communities." was the year- over-year increase in housing starts in February 2018. Source: LegalShield Housing Activity Index, released March 2018 STAT INSIGHT 4.3%

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