Housing values are on the rise in GR metro area

The increase in home values in Greater Grand Rapids has pulled ahead of the national average, while rental prices stayed on par with the national increase, according to two reports released last week.

Housing values in the Grand Rapids-Wyoming metro area increased by 7.7 percent in March 2016 compared to March 2015, according to the CoreLogic Home Price Index released by CoreLogic.

Nationally, home prices increased an average of 6.7 percent year over year.

“Home prices reached the bottom five years ago, and since then have appreciated almost 40 percent,” CoreLogic President and CEO Anand Nallathambi said in a release. “The highest appreciation was in the West, where prices continue to increase at double-digit rates.”

Grand Rapids saw year-over-year rents rise 2.8 percent; the median rent for a two-bedroom apartment in the area is now $950, according to data released by Apartment List.

The national average increase in rents was also 2.8 percent, with rents in coastal cities dropping. The national median rent for a two-bedroom apartment is $1,300. In larger cities such as Nashville and Dallas, rents rose more than 5 percent in the past year.

The month-to-month growth of home prices in Grand Rapids, however, was lower than the national average. From February to March, Grand Rapids home prices increased by 0.4 percent while the national average increased by 2.1 percent.

CoreLogic expects home prices will continue to climb nationwide by 5.3 percent when the next report comes out in March 2017.

“Housing helped keep U.S. economic growth afloat in the first quarter of 2016 as residential investment recorded its strongest gain since the end of 2012,” CoreLogic Chief Economist Frank Nothaft said in the release.

“Low interest rates and increased home building suggest that housing will continue to be a growth driver.”