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the latest ORIGINATION Or ig i nat ion s e r v ic i ng Lukewarm Markets Heat Up as Hottest Metros Cool While some are petering out, others are just getting warmed up. ago were giving the biggest boost to price figures. For example, in Las Vegas— where quarterly asking price gains were as high as 8.9 percent for the three months ending August— quarterly growth slowed to 1.9 percent in November, putting it well below the national average. Similar trends were recorded in Oakland, Atlanta, Phoenix, Los Angeles, and Detroit—despite the fact they were some of the strongest markets for annual price increases. At the same time, of the 56 markets reporting annual price gains of less than 10 percent in November, many experienced accelerated quarterly growth, rising an average 1.6 percent compared with 1.3 percent in August. Such markets include Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and Miami. "The price slowdown—like everything about housing—is all local," said Jed Kolko, Trulia's chief economist. "Price gains are cooling in 2013's hottest markets, like Las Vegas and Oakland, but heating up in markets that haven't been in the limelight." Meanwhile, rents climbed 3 percent year-over-year in November. Among the 25 largest rental markets, rents are rising fastest in San Francisco, Portland, and Seattle, while they're on the decline in Washington, D.C., and Philadelphia, Trulia reported. Despite the slowdown in asking prices in some of the largest rental markets, rent gains were still outpaced. This could soon make purchasing a home a less appealing choice to consumers, Kolko says. "Homebuying is much less affordable at the end of 2013 than at the start," he said. "Prices rose faster than rents in all of the largest metros, even in San Francisco and Portland, where rents rose 10 percent or more in the past year. Higher prices, along with higher mortgage rates, could make renting a better deal than buying in some markets in 2014." The M Report | 39 se c on da r y m a r k e t E arly price trend data for November indicates another month of cooling for the nation's oncehottest markets, though others may soon step up to take their place. Online marketplace Trulia released the latest findings from its Price and Rent Monitor reports, showing a shift in market trends as the housing market prepares for 2014. Nationally, asking prices in November were up 1 percent month-over-month and 12.1 percent year-over-year, increasing annually in 98 of America's 100 largest metro areas. For the three-month period in November, asking prices rose 3 percent—the fastest quarterly increase in five months. While price increases for the last few months have slowed down at the national level, Trulia's data suggest the greatest drag is coming from the same markets that only a few months a na ly t ic s "Homes listed for sale and overall sales will increase as more borrowers find themselves no longer underwater," commented Gordon Crawford, VP of analytics at DataQuick. "However, we can expect purchases by investors to continue to be a large share of all purchases, as a lack of affordable properties and tight credit standards will continue to drive high rental demand and keep many entry-level homebuyers out of the market," Crawford added. In particular, "[i]nvestors will especially dominate what would have typically been entry-level homes," according to DataQuick. Year-over-year home price increases ranged from 4 percent in Fulton County, Georgia, to 33 percent in Sacramento, California, based on DataQuick's observations. The average price growth over the year across the 42 markets was about 16 percent, well above historic norms ranging between 3 and 4 percent. While prices rose in all 42 counties in October, DataQuick found home sales decreased in 33 counties. The number of counties reporting declining home sales in October is more than half that of September, according to DataQuick. Of the counties observed, Shelby, Tennessee, experienced the greatest drop in home sales: a 27 percent decline. Cook and Dupage, Illinois, and Jackson County, Missouri, also posted declines of more than 20 percent in October. While sales increased in just nine of the 42 counties over the month, 17 counties reported increases for the quarter, and 28 reported annual increases, according to DataQuick's report. Foreclosures declined in a little more than half the counties from October 2012 to October 2013 and a little less than half from the second to third quarters of the year. Twenty-two counties experienced a decline in foreclosures in October, with 18 reporting declining foreclosures on a quarterly basis. Year-overyear foreclosures were down in 27 counties, DataQuick observed.