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May 2023 » thefivestar.com 75 J O U R N A L May 2023 TECH LAYOFFS HAMPER WEST COAST HOUSING MARKETS " T he divergence in home price changes across the United States reflects a tale of two housing markets," said Selma Hepp, Chief Economist at CoreLogic. CoreLogic has released new data covering February 2023 through its Home Price Index which found that overall home price growth remains in positive territory at 4.4%, marking 133 straight months of growth. However, the 4.4% growth recorded in February was the lowest seen since 2019. Eight states and districts recorded annual home price losses, with much of the depreciation seen in the relatively expensive Western United States, including California, Idaho, Oregon, Washington, and Utah. According to CoreLogic, tech company layoffs were the most likely culprit of falling home prices on the West Coast, but prices on the East Coast held steady. "Declines in the West are due to the tech industry slowdown and a severe lack of affordability after decades of undersupply. The consistent gains in the Southeast and South reflect strong job markets, in- migration patterns, and relative affordability due to new home construction," Hepp said. "But while housing market challenges remain, particularly in light of mortgage rate volatility and the ongoing banking turmoil," Hepp continued, "pent-up homebuyer demand is responding favorably to lower rates in many markets. This trend holds true even in the West, leading to a solid monthly gain in home prices in February. U.S. home prices rose by 0.8% in February, double the month-over-month increase historically seen and indicating that prices in most markets have already bottomed out." Top takeaways as highlighted by CoreLogic include: » U.S. home prices (including distressed sales) increased by 4.4% year over year in February 2023 compared to February 2022. On a month-over-month basis, home prices increased by 0.8% compared with January 2023. » In February, the annual appreciation of attached properties (5.4%) was 1.4 percentage points higher than that of detached properties (4%). » CoreLogic forecasts show annual U.S. home price gains slowing to 3.7% by February 2024. » Miami posted the highest year-over- year home price increase of the country's 20 tracked metro areas in February, at 15.6%, while Tampa, Florida, continued to rank second at 9.3%. » Florida and Maine recorded the highest annual home price gains, 11.3% and 10.3%, respectively. South Carolina posted the third-highest growth, with a 9.2% year-over-year increase. Eight states and districts recorded annual losses: Washington (-4.9%); Montana (-3.1%); Nevada (-1.7%); Idaho (-1.6%); Utah (-1.6%); California (-1.5%); Washington, D.C. (-1.2%); and Oregon (-0.7%). LOW-INCOME HOMEBUYERS MAY BE UNAWARE OF AFFORDABLE HOME LENDING OFFERINGS A new KeyBank poll found that nearly 31% of respondents did not seek out any information or resources on homebuyer assistance programs and could be unaware of the existence of these offerings and the important role banks can play in providing access to them. KeyBank has debuted its Fair Housing Month poll, which surveyed 1,000 homeown- ers in households earning less than $75,000 annually regarding their homebuying and lending experiences. The poll found that nearly one-third—or 31%—of respondents did not seek out any information or resources on homebuyer assistance programs. This may be because many homebuyers could be unaware of the existence of these of- ferings and the important role banks can play in providing access to them. While the Fair Housing Act of 1968 set a precedent to make the sale, rental, and home financing process nondiscriminatory, borrowers in underserved communities are often at a disadvantage when it comes to awareness of tools, resourc- es, and affordable offerings available to help them achieve home ownership. In recognition of Fair Housing Month this April, KeyBank is further committing to helping all potential homebuyers make their dream of owning a home a reality by ex- panding its Special Purpose Credit Programs for qualifying properties in eligible commu- nities—introducing the Key Opportunities Home Equity Loan and the expansion of the KeyBank Home Buyer Credit to up to $5,000 in value. This follows a commitment to invest more than $25 million in grants, fee waivers, and marketing over five years to increase mortgage lending in majority-minority neighborhoods, as well as more than $1 million to homebuyer education and other community support.