According to the latest edition of the Morgantown MSA Economic Monitor, single-family house price appreciation in Morgantown tapped the brakes during the past year.
Morgantowns house prices rose by 7.8 percent from the second quarter of 2005 to the same quarter in 2006,said George Hammond, research associate professor in the West Virginia University Bureau of Business and Economic Research, which is part of the College of Business and Economics.
Thats a deceleration from the 13.8 percent increase during the second quarter of 2004 to second quarter 2005 period. Morgantowns house price appreciation rate was just above the state rate (7.4 percent) but below the national average of 10.1 percent during the last four quarters.
Morgantown was not the only region to experience slower house price appreciation during the last four quarters. Even the booming real estate markets with counties in the eastern part of the state experienced slower house price appreciation, as well as the state and the nation,Hammond continued.
In addition, according to the latest income data released by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, per capita personal income has risen far faster in the Morgantown MSA than in any other metropolitan area with counties in the state. Per capita personal income in Morgantown rose by 5.5 percent per year during the 2000-05 period, compared to 4.4 percent for the state and 3.0 percent for the nation.
Overall, strong job, population and income gains in Morgantown reflect the high rates of public and private nonresidential investment, as well as the regions highly educated workforce,Hammond said.Sustained residential building activity and rising mortgage interest rates are likely to contribute to slower house price appreciation in Morgantown in the future. A house price bust is possible, but continued economic growth in the region will help moderate the slowdown,Hammond concluded.
The Morgantown MSA Monitor is a quarterly publication of the BBER with underwriting support provided in part by Clear Mountain Bank. Copies of the publication can be found atwww.bber.wvu.eduandwww.clearmountainbank.com. Information about the ACCRA Cost of Living Report can be found atwww.coli.org.