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2019 Housing Market Forecast

2019 Housing Market Forecast

by | Jul 16, 2019 | Uncategorized

CALIFORNIA Inventory Improving, Affordability Deteriorating High home prices and eroding affordability is expected to cut into housing demand and contribute to a weaker housing market in 2019, and the volume of homes sold in 2018 will register lower for the first time in four years, according to the California Association of Realtors (C.A.R.) housing forecast. The California median home price is forecast to increase 3.1 percent to $593,450 in 2019, following a projected 7 percent increase in 2018 to $575,800. C.A.R. forecasts a modest decline in existing single-family home sales of 3.3 percent next year to reach 396,800 units, down from the projected 2018 sales figure of 410,460.  “While home prices are predicted to temper next year, interest rates will likely rise and compound housing affordability issues,” said C.A.R. President Steve White. C.A.R.’s forecast projects growth in the U.S. Gross Domestic Product of 2.4 percent in 2019, after a projected gain of 3 percent in 2018.  The average for 30-year, fixed mortgage interest rates will rise to 5.2 percent in 2019, up from 4.7 percent in 2018 but will still remain low by historical standards. “The surge in home prices over the past few years due to the housing supply shortage has finally taken a toll on the market,” said C.A.R. Senior Vice President and Chief Economist Leslie Appleton-Young. Abridged from C.A.R. 2019 Housing Market Forecast   NATIONAL Existing-Home Sales to Stabilize and Price Growth to Continue Consumers should expect home sales to flatten and home prices to continue to increase, though at a slower pace, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR).   “Ninety percent of markets are...