Cheryl Bourland's blog

The first Opportunity Cost Report has been published by Realtor.com, detailing the potential cost savings to be had by buying a home now rather than waiting until later. The cost of renting and current homeownership advantages for each market are two of the many factors that were analyzed in an attempt to put an exact dollar amount on long-term gains associated with immediate home purchase. The results were decidedly in favor of buying now, with the average buyer expected to reap savings totaling $217,726 over a 30-year period.

Although there is a huge amount of variation between different housing markets, the report found that buying now resulted in over $100,000 in financial benefit in 88% of metro areas. A number of elements fueled these gains, including projected increases in rent, interest rates, and home prices.

These are the 10 markets with the greatest potential gains in wealth:

According to the National Association of Realtors' Pending Home Sales Index, April exhibited the highest number of contract signings in nearly nine years. April was also the fourth straight month of increases in pending home sales, which were up 3.4 percent month-over-month and up 14 percent above April 2014 levels, the largest annual increase since September 2012.

Good news for the already positive housing market! New home sales rose more than expected in April, reaching a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 517,000 units (up 6.8%). Sales in March were also adjusted up, from 481,000 to 484,000 units. This increase was driven by the Midwest, where sales reached a seven-year high after rising 36.8%.

Another encouraging sign was that the median price for a new home increased 8.3% from this time last year to $297,300. This gain in home equity is seen as a positive omen for consumer spending.

Source: New home sales, prices rise strongly in April