Jed Kolko

In a time of sharply rising U.S. home prices, should one worry about a new housing bubble? Apparently not. Despite the price hikes — which are currently increasing at the same rate as during the 2003, 2004 and 2005 bubble years — there is no bubble today, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing Trulia data.

The difference is that home prices are now undervalued when compared to personal incomes and rents. [more]

Jed Kolko

Trulia’s chief economist Jed Kolko said that although the housing recovery was “for real,” the price rises in many major markets were simply a rebound from the dark days of the housing bust. Speaking in an interview on Bloomberg News, Kolko said that strong job growth was increasing household demand, leading to an appreciation in house prices. See the video after the jump.

Buying saves consumers more than 50 percent in South Florida, Trulia study says

Despite the ever-higher number of foreclosures, buying a home still makes more financial sense in much of South Florida than renting one — or so says a new study by real estate data site Trulia.com cited by the Sun Sentinel.

Buying a home costs more than 50 percent less than renting in Broward and Palm Beach counties, the study shows. In Broward County, the average monthly cost of owning is $773, compared with an average rental rate of $1,638. In Palm Beach County, the average home costs $773 a month to own, while renting will set the average tenant back $1,767, the Sentinel said. [more]

What words set apart West Palm Beach home listings? Perhaps surprisingly, “roman tubs,” is the winner, according to a report from the Palm Beach Post.

That phrase is ten times more likely in West Palm Beach ads than in others nationwide, according to results from a new database released by real estate data site Trulia.com. In San Francisco, Calif. mention of yuppie grocery chain Whole Foods is common; in Grand Rapids, Mich., barns are frequently brought up, the Post said. [more]

From left: Governor Mitt Romney, a house and President Barack Obama

While the second presidential debate did not touch specifically on housing, former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney did mention capping itemized tax deductions — of which the mortgage deduction is one of the most significant — at $25,000 per household, in his outline of his tax policy. But Jed Kolko, Trulia’s chief economist, writes, in a recent column for Forbes, that this policy would disproportionately hurt the middle class. [more]

It takes the average Miami resident more than a decade to save enough for a down payment on a residential property, according to the Atlantic. By comparing local average wages from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’s Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages and local median home asking price listed on Trulia, the Atlantic calculated that on average it takes 13.1 years to afford the traditional 20 percent down payment in Miami. [more]

Evidently, many of the international investors snapping up Miami condominium units are earning growing returns on their purchases. Citing Trulia.com data, CNN reported that rents in Miami increased 12.1 percent between March 2011 and March 2012, the second highest growth rate in the country, trailing only Sarasota’s 12.9 percent gain. CNN attributes the rising rents in Miami to the increased demand stemming from displaced former homeowners whose properties were foreclosed upon. [CNN]

It could take three years for a full recovery of the United States housing market, according to a report by Trulia.com. “We still have a long way to go,” said Jed Kolko, chief economist at Trulia. The Trulia.com numbers show that construction starts were 22 percent of the way back from their April 2009 low, the Sun Sentinel reported. [more]

For those still in need of a date for Valentine’s Day, real estate website Trulia.com has some advice — buy a house.

In a survey of 1,000 singletons conducted for Trulia.com and cited by CNN, more than a third of women and 18 percent of men said they would much rather date a homeowner than someone who rents their apartment. Just 2 percent of women said they preferred to date a man who rents, while only 3 percent of men said they would choose a woman who rents over one who owns her home. [more]

Florida has seven of the 10 metropolitan areas nationwide with the most online demand for homes, according to Trulia, the Sun Sentinel reported. Trulia’s data measures real estate searches. Palm Beach County and Broward County are numbers six and seven on the list. “Although locals in Florida, inland California and the Southwest are suffering from high foreclosure rates and lost equity, huge price declines since the height of the housing bubble have drawn house hunters from across the country,” said Jed Kolko, chief economist at Trulia. [Sun Sentinel]