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MortgagePoint » Your Trusted Source for Mortgage Banking and Servicing News 74 June 2024 J O U R N A L analyze during the first quarter of 2024, the largest portions of zones where median prices increased quarterly were in Kentucky (medians up from Q4 of 2023 to the first quarter of 2024 in 65% of zones), New Jersey (58%), Tennessee (56%), Arizona (56%), and Minnesota (56%). States where prices were up quarterly in the smallest portion of zones included Utah (median prices up quarterly in 38% of zones), New York (42%), Virginia (42%), South Carolina (42%), and Alabama (44%). » States where median home values in Opportunity Zones remained up most often year over year included New Jer- sey (median prices up annually in 91% of zones), Wisconsin (75%), Kentucky (70%), Minnesota (70%), and Illinois (70%). » Of the 3,512 zones in the report, 1,197 (34%) had median prices below $150,000 in the first quarter of 2024. That was down from 38 % of zones with sufficient data a year earlier. Another 558 zones (16%) had medians in Q1 of this year ranging from $150,000 to $199,999. » Median values in Q1 of 2024 ranged from $200,000 to $299,999 in 797 Opportunity Zones (23%) while they topped the nationwide first-quarter median of $330,000 in just 776 (22%). » The Midwest continued in Q1 of 2024 to have larger portions of the lowest-priced Opportunity Zone tracts. Median home prices were less than $175,000 in 67% of zones in the Midwest, followed by the Northeast (47%), the South (42%), and the West (6%). Mixed Q1 pricing trends impacted most in the lowest-priced locations, with dropping values indicating warning signs in certain markets. Nonetheless, the overall picture within Opportunity Zones demonstrated continuous signs of economic strength, or limited weakness, in some of the country's most vulnerable regions when compared to other markets across the country. That scenario has persisted even as a decade-long housing market bubble has halted in Opportunity Zones and elsewhere, with very modest price gains in the last year. By one critical measure, Opportunity Zones' pricing trends continued to out- perform the national average in the early months of 2024. For example, changes in typical property values across more than half of Opportunity Zones outperformed national price movements both quarterly and annually. "Another quarter, same result. That's the takeaway yet again inside Opportunity Zones around the U.S., where home prices still lag far behind national numbers, but gains and losses mostly keep tracking overall market patterns," said Rob Barber, CEO for ATTOM. "Clearly, there are exceptions, especially at the lowest end of the price scale. Nevertheless, the latest data shows Opportunity Zone housing markets continuing to attract considerable interest among home buyers pushed out of higher-priced areas in a market with very limited supplies of homes for sale. That again points to the kind of economic viability needed to lure investors who may want to take advantage of the redevelop- ment incentives aimed at revitalizing those communities." U.S. HOME SALES UPDATE AS PRICES HIT RECORD HIGH A s home prices and mortgage rates remain high, exist- ing-home sales fell in April, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR). All four major U.S. areas had month-over-month reductions. Sales fell year over year in the Northeast, Mid- west, and South, but rose in the West. Total existing-home sales (completed deals involving single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums, and co-ops) fell 1.9% from March to a seasonally adjusted annual pace of 4.14 million in April. Year on year, sales declined 1.9% (from 4.22 million in April 2023). "Existing home sales slipped 1.9% in April, bringing the sales pace to 4.14 mil- lion homes," said Danielle Hale, Chief Economist at Realtor.com. "This pace was also down 1.9% compared to one year ago, signaling the ongoing head- winds that buyers and sellers face. While the nationwide housing market remains in seller-friendly territory, rising for-sale inventory is slowly nudging the market in a more buyer-friendly direction as the months' supply hit 3.5 months, up from 3.0 months one year ago and 3.2 months in March." Hale added that the median sales price increased an estimated 5.7% from a year ago to $407,600—hitting a new April high—despite the fact that listing prices had fallen. Regional Breakdown: » Existing-home sales in the Northeast waned 4% from March to an annual rate of 480,000 in April, a decline of 4% from April 2023. The median price in the Northeast was $458,500, up 8.5% from the previous year. » In the Midwest, existing-home sales slipped 1% from one month ago to an annual rate of 1 million in April, down 1% from one year ago. The median price in the Midwest was $303,600, up 6% from April 2023. » Existing-home sales in the South de- scended 1.6% from March to an annual rate of 1.9 million in April, down 3.1% from the prior year. The median price in the South was $366,200, up 3.7% from last year. » In the West, existing-home sales retract- ed 2.6% from a month ago to an annual rate of 760,000 in April, an increase of 1.3% from one year before. The median price in the West was $629,600, up 9.3% from April 2023. According to the monthly Realtors Confidence Index: » Properties typically remained on the market for 26 days in April, down from 33 days in March but up from 22 days in April 2023. » First-time buyers were responsible for 33% of sales in April, up from 32% in March and 29% in April 2023. NAR's 2023 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers—released in November 2023— found that the annual share of first-time buyers was 32%.