As discussions around rising home prices persist, a recent update on housing values in relation to inflation has been released. This update revisits a 2022 article that examined the American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year Median Home Values and their alignment with inflation across the state. The earlier report highlighted uneven increases in home values across various counties when adjusted for inflation.
The current analysis utilized the latest 2023 data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s ACS to identify any shifts in trends. The findings indicate that inflation-adjusted median home values have consistently risen each year from 2014 to 2023, marking an overall increase of 55% during this period. Notably, ACS did not release a 1-year estimate for 2020, prompting the use of the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Consumer Price Index (CPI-U) to adjust prices to their 2023 equivalents.
Further examination using ACS 5-year estimates for both 2018 and 2023 revealed that out of North Carolina’s 100 counties, 77 experienced an increase in median home values after adjusting for inflation. Importantly, no counties saw a decrease, while only 23 counties maintained steady median home values over this time frame.
These stable counties include Anson, Hertford, Mitchell, Scotland, Bertie, Hyde, Northampton, Tyrell, Bladen, Jackson, Pamlico, Warren, Gates, Jones, Perquimans, Washington, Graham, Lenoir, Polk, Wilkes as well as Halifax Martin and Robeson. These areas are primarily rural and mostly situated in eastern and western parts of the state. Anson and Gates are exceptions as they are part of Metropolitan Statistical Areas. Most of these counties have experienced population declines since only Jackson County reported population growth between 2014 and 2023.
The updated data suggests an expansion in the trend where more counties now exhibit home value growth surpassing inflation rates compared to initial analyses. While there was initially a moderate correlation between population gains and increasing home values across counties this has weakened according to current data indicating other factors influencing changes in home values beyond mere population shifts.
In conclusion growing county regions witnessed median home values surpassing inflation whereas some declining areas matched it leading experts to anticipate continued statewide increases particularly within growth regions as supported by recent estimates. However limitations exist due to reliance on five-year average data which may understate recent surges seen post-2021 making future releases crucial for assessing ongoing trends especially concerning whether those twenty-three identified steady-value locales will witness accelerated appreciation soon.
