The value of the housing market hit a 10-year high in 2016 as equity reached new levels, according to the Urban Institute’s latest report.
Home prices for existing single-family homes came screeching to a halt in January, the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s report showed. And a new release from the U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development shows the median home prices for new home sales dropped in February.
Despite this, home prices remain high historically and the housing market is valued higher than it has been in years.
The Federal Reserve's Flow of Funds report has consistently indicated an increasing total value of the housing market driven by growing household equity since 2012, and 2016 was no different.
Total debt and mortgages held steady at $10.3 trillion, but household equity reached a new high of $14 trillion. The total value of the housing market increased to $24.3 trillion, surpassing even the pre-crisis peak of $23.9 trillion in 2006.
Click to Enlarge
(Source: Federal Reserve Flow of Funds, Urban Institute)
Within the U.S. residential mortgage market, agency mortgage-backed securities make up 59.2% of the total mortgage market, private-label securities make up 5.1% and unsecuritized first liens at the GSEs, commercial banks, savings institutions and credit unions make up 29.9%. Second liens comprise the remaining 5.8% of the total.
Click to Enlarge
(Source: Federal Reserve Flow of Funds, Urban Institute)
