Alaska housing prices jumped last year to a new record of $389,000

Excessive demand and low stock catapulted common dwelling costs in Alaska to a document $388,648 final yr, in keeping with a brand new state report.

Costs soared 8.9% in 2021 from the yr earlier than, the third-highest soar in three many years and solely barely beneath the document set in 2005, in keeping with the Alaska Division of Labor and Workforce Improvement.

It was additionally the second straight yr of fast-rising dwelling costs in Alaska, a development seen nationally as low rates of interest and financial savings boosted by pandemic aid funds drove demand.

Rates of interest have risen sharply in latest months, boosting month-to-month dwelling mortgage funds, however realtors from Southeast Alaska to Anchorage stated the market stays robust.

In Alaska, Decrease 48 residents in search of properties or land are serving to add to the demand, realtors stated. On the identical time, the issue of restricted land for constructing continues, sophisticated by hovering building prices that assist push housing costs larger, they stated.

“It’s your traditional macroeconomic love affair, the place excessive demand meets low provide and costs go up accordingly,” stated Invoice Bolling, a co-owner of Gateway Metropolis Realty in Ketchikan.

Ketchikan, a picturesque Southeast Alaska group of about 8,000, had the largest housing value soar in Alaska final yr, a 16% enhance to push common costs to $439,961, in keeping with the state’s report.

Bolling stated Ketchikan has attracted some newcomers who purchase properties there and use high-speed web to work remotely for employers within the Decrease 48, he stated.

Additionally, dwelling seekers usually really feel extra urgency to purchase now, to lock down a mortgage earlier than charges and month-to-month funds rise additional, he stated.

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“Costs are being bid up in some instances,” above the asking value, Bolling stated.

The common housing value additionally rose to new ranges in Juneau — the most costly place to purchase a house in Alaska, with a mean value of $475,000.

In Anchorage, the typical value of a single-family dwelling hit $436,577 final yr, the report stated.

In Juneau and Anchorage, the market was so scorching towards the tip of final yr that 5 properties have been bought for each one dwelling that was publicly listed, the report stated.

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“So that they have been being bought even earlier than they have been being listed,” similar to by phrase of mouth, stated Rob Kreiger, an economist for the state who wrote the report. “That’s not one thing I’ve seen earlier than, at these multiples. That’s in all probability the clearest indicator that demand is outpacing obtainable provide.”

The quickly rising costs have some individuals involved a couple of crash, he stated. However the situations that drove recessions in Alaska within the Eighties, and nationwide in 2008, don’t exist now, he stated. Surges in housing building contributed to these crashes, however there’s not quite a lot of new housing building in Alaska, he stated.

“That’s to not say there couldn’t be a crash, however it wouldn’t be like these,” he stated.

In actual fact, dwelling costs remained comparatively reasonably priced final yr, the report stated. That’s primarily based on a measure that features final yr’s record-low rates of interest and revenue, which skewed larger final yr thanks partially to pandemic-relief funds.

Nonetheless, consultants in reasonably priced housing say the upper rates of interest and better costs are more and more complicating plans for a lot of potential dwelling consumers.

Sue Perrins with NeighborWorks Alaska, which gives loans that assist low-to-moderate earners purchase properties, stated prices are getting so excessive that some individuals the group works with are setting apart their plans to purchase a primary dwelling or to maneuver to a bigger one.

“Our sense is they’ll’t discover properties to buy as a result of the market has been so tight and in need of stock in an reasonably priced value vary,” she stated.

Nationally, rates of interest for typical dwelling loans have jumped from round 3% up to now two years to greater than 5%, the report stated.

Mark Romick, deputy govt director of Alaska Housing Finance Corp., a state company offering reasonably priced housing, stated rising rates of interest and residential costs could make it tougher for individuals to get the house they need. Each 1% enhance in rates of interest typically means an additional $200 in month-to-month funds for the average-priced dwelling, he stated.

He stated the housing company works with Alaska banks and different lenders to supply applications that present low-interest loans for a lot of Alaskans, similar to first-time dwelling consumers, veterans or individuals with decrease incomes.

Affordability is a person scenario, relying on a purchaser’s circumstances and different elements, stated Anita Bates, who sells homes with Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Alaska Realty, primarily based in Anchorage.

A giant concern in Anchorage is the dearth of recent dwelling building at costs first-time consumers can afford, she stated.

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She stated rising rates of interest have dissuaded some consumers just lately, however the Anchorage market is bustling.

“It’s nonetheless very energetic,” she stated. “It’s a mix of quite a lot of issues. There’s nonetheless quite a lot of demand for housing, an actual lack of stock, and for my part, the rise in rates of interest has slowed issues down just a little, however not appreciably.”

Anchorage single-family properties bought in ranges between $225,000 and $800,000 have been exceeding their asking value by a small quantity on common, in keeping with information by late Might offered by Keller Williams Realty Alaska Group.

Soldotna-based realtor Dale Bagley, with Redoubt Keller Williams Realty Alaska Group, stated the upper rates of interest appears to have lowered the a number of provides that will are available for Kenai Peninsula property.

“It’s nonetheless a very popular market,” Bagley stated. “A number of homes are promoting and quite a lot of land is transferring.”

The common single-family dwelling value on the Kenai Peninsula rose to $337,287 final yr, a ten% soar, the state report stated.

Bagley stated consumers are nonetheless typically providing money to beat out opponents, and keep away from value determinations and banks that may sluggish a sale or restrict the supply.

One factor he’s seen for the reason that pandemic started is extra individuals shopping for land to park their RVs or have a seasonal place to go to.

“Individuals simply need to camp and get out however campgrounds are full,” he stated.

Some Alaskans and out-of-staters are additionally transferring to the Peninsula to be close to household, including to native demand, he stated.

“We’re seeing individuals who need a summer season dwelling to flee the warmth of Decrease 48 and be close to grandkids,” he stated.

One disadvantage of the market is that it’s onerous to see households lose out on a house they’ve turn out to be emotionally connected to purchasing, he stated.

Kreiger, the economist, stated it’s onerous to know when the rising charges will trigger the market to chill off considerably.

Nationwide rates of interest have averaged over 5.25% just lately, the very best they’ve been since 2009 and a pointy enhance from final yr, the state report says. However they might proceed rising for months and nonetheless stay traditionally low, it says.

“That’s actually the query everybody has of their thoughts,” Kreiger stated. “However saying when that time is reached can be nothing greater than hypothesis.”

Each day Information photojournalist Loren Holmes contributed.