A combination of lower mortgage rates, low housing inventory, rising income and higher consumer confidence are driving sales prices higher. This is in turn is increasing home values and quickly building equity.

Lansing area home sales prices have been rising steadily for the past eight years. Most recent statistics (March 2019) show the average sales price of Lansing area homes was $168,498, up 9% over the previous year. However, rising prices have not been discouraging homebuyers.

The result of the rise in average sales prices over the last two years translates into a huge home equity benefit for Lansing area homeowners. Those who purchased two years ago at the average sales price of $139,690 have accrued an average of $28,808 in home equity, $14,919 of which occurred over the past 12 months. That’s an average of $14,404 per year, enough to pay back their closing costs and put them almost halfway to eliminating any private mortgage insurance they may have.