Will 2016 be remembered as the peak of the recovery?  It was the best year for sales in more than a decade.  Will sales take a break in 2017, a victim of political uncertainty, rising rates and prices that are outpacing incomes? Even worse, will 2017 herald a multi-year downtrend in sales? Last year, existing-home sales finished 2016 at 5.45 … Read More »

Is it just the end of the buying season or are home sales hitting a wall? A growing consensus of economists foresees a flattening in sales growth—or even year-over-year declines in the months to come-for the balance of the year and even into next year.  Sales may have reached a ceiling for the season. A combination of rising prices, slow … Read More »

Job growth and better housing values in America’s heartland will reverse the movement of families to the coasts in recent years and generate population growth in Midwestern markets which have declinded in recent years. Over half of experts surveyed in the latest quarterly Zillow Home Price Expectations (ZHPE) Survey said they don’t expect migration to the coasts to continue indefinitely. … Read More »

Winter continues to slow growth in housing price appreciation across the nation, but distressed saturation levels – the percentage of real estate owned and short sales to all sales – could point to a strong market return come spring. Across the nation, regions continue to wane in quarter-over-quarter (QoQ) growth in home prices during the slow winter real estate season. … Read More »

As the build-up to the spring buying season winds down in a matter of weeks, the inventory picture is shaping up be significantly worse than it was last year—which was one of the tightest in recent years.  A rush of new listings in February and March could brighten the picture, but through January it’s clear that inventories are going starting … Read More »

When we published “Will Sellers Step up the Plate in 2016? “two weeks ago December market report weren’t in yet and it was clearly too early to blow the bugle over the inventory picture for the coming season The reports are now in and hands are reaching for the nearest brass instruments.  Too many signals from too many sources are … Read More »

The National Association of Realtors has reduced its outlook for existing sales in 2016 from a 3 percent increase over 2015 (5.45 million sales) to an increase of only 1 to 2 percent (5.30 to 5.40 million sales). The new forecast, three months before the opening of the home sales season, amends an early one made at NAR’s annual meeting … Read More »

    “It is important to recognize that 2016 is shaping up to be the best year in recent memory to sell. Supply remains very tight, so inventory is moving faster. Given the forecast that price appreciation will slow in 2016 to a more normal rate of growth, delaying will not produce substantially higher values, and will also see higher … Read More »

It’s no secret the chronic inventory shortage that began three years ago is a ball-and-chain that’s crippling sales and keeping the recovery from achieving its potential. Evidence: Just as the 2014 market opened in March, Realtors reported a severe inventory shortage in most areas, especially for properties in the lower price range and for those that are move-in ready. In … Read More »

    The experts have spoken and their short and long term expectations for home prices next year are slightly more conservative than leading economists at real estate research organizations and trade associations have forecasted that after price growth around 4 percent this year, they will moderate in 2016 and thereafter. More than 100 real estate experts and economists participating … Read More »