According to new information released by Trulia, booming markets that have seen the largest increase in home prices have also experienced the largest lag in construction activity. Home prices jumped 11.0% on an annual basis, and on a monthly basis, in August, home prices experienced a 1.2% increase. Although existing home prices are on the rise, construction permits have fallen. Trulia’s Chief Economist, Jed Kolko said, “investors have bought in the boom-and-bust metros, helping push prices up more than 20% year-over-year in Las Vegas, Sacramento, and Detroit. Builders, however, are betting on markets that avoided the worst of the crash, like Boston, much of Texas, and the expensive California coast, where job growth is strong and few homes are vacant.” More here
