Here’s the good news (and the bad) for homeowners in the Bradenton area

Home prices in the Bradenton-Sarasota area rose 4 percent from June 2017 to June 2018, a more moderate increase than seen statewide and nationally, according to real estate analyst CoreLogic.

Nationally, home prices increased 6.8 percent year over year from June 2017 to June 2018, CoreLogic reported.

In Florida, the rate of price increase was 5.8 percent.

“We have seen a very stable, comfortable increase in the median price,” Jennifer Horvat, chief marketing officer for Michael Saunders & Company, said Tuesday. “What is fueling it differently in Manatee County is all the new construction in Lakewood Ranch.”

Well-priced homes in good condition are seeing multiple offers, said Linda Formella, west Bradenton office manager for Michael Saunders & Company.

“Buyers are competing for homes priced right,” Formella said.

Inventory is growing in Manatee County with a 4.1-month supply available on the market in June. A six-month supply is considered normal, she said.

In June, there were $233 million in realtor-brokered closed sales for single-family homes. That figure does not include condominiums or private sales, Formella said.

In its second-quarter real estate sales report, Michael Saunders & Company said the Bradenton-Sarasota area is still a balanced market — neither favoring buyers nor sellers — with certain exceptions by local market.

States showing the greatest year-to-year growth in prices in June were all in the West: Nevada at 12.6 percent, Washington at 12.1 percent, Idaho at 11.4 percent, Utah at 10.4 percent and California at 8.4 percent, according to CoreLogic.

“The rise in home prices and interest rates over the past year have eroded affordability and are beginning to slow existing home sales in some markets,” said Frank Nothaft, chief economist for CoreLogic.

“For June, we found in CoreLogic public records data that home sales in the San Francisco Bay Area and Southern California were down 9 and 12 percent, respectively, from one year earlier. Further increases in home prices and mortgage rates over the next year will likely dampen sales and home-price growth,” Nothaft said.

As home prices continue to rise, “63 percent of millennials identified affordability as the reason for not purchasing a home. Baby boomer generation renters, on the other hand, have a mere lack of interest in home ownership,” according to a CoreLogic press release.

Across the United States, the desire to own a home is significantly higher among those in younger age groups.

Younger millennial renters (those under the age of 29) are significantly more likely to want to buy a home in the next 12 months than older millennial or Generation X renters, but affordability for this group is a significant issue.

“One-third of millennial renters reported feeling they cannot afford a down payment to buy a home,” said Frank Martell, president and CEO of CoreLogic.

“With home prices rising quickly over the past few years and supplies low, first-time home buyers face ever-growing challenges to find and buy affordable entry-level homes. More needs to be done to help our first-time buyers join the home ownership class,” Martell said.