The year 2017 was the year of the unpredictable in the United States whether it was politics or real estate. Extremely low inventories and rising interest rates are a reality now, and Americans have learned to expect the unexpected from the real estate market as well. Here are the top trends emerging from the real estate market for 2018 and beyond.
DOM is reducing
One real estate market trend that has brought smiles on the faces of homeowners and realtors is the decreased DOM (days on the market). This means homes are selling faster than they were at the same time last year.
This means there is less pressure on sellers and they are getting a higher price for their properties. This also means buyers will face more competition and need to chalk out a strategy when buying a house.
Prices of homes are higher this year
This is a trend that has continued for the last many years. But whereas annual increase of home prices in previous years has been 3-4%, prices in 2018 are up 10% from their prices in 2017. While this is a welcome trend for the seller, it means arranging more money for down payment for the buyers.
Inventory will continue to be extremely low in 2018
Inventory will continue to be extremely low in 2018Buyers all over the country have been grappling with the problem of low inventories over the last few years. If there were 967,000 homes up for sales in November 2010, this number came down drastically to just 653,347 in November 2017.
This is a situation that is going to persist and even worsen in 2018, prompting bidding wars and increasing asking prices of properties. Click here to see our current inventory for sale.
Growth of home prices will slow down but not stop completely
Prices of properties have been on an ascendency for the last 24 months. Increase of prices has been particularly impressive this year with prices increasing by almost 10%. But experts are saying that this growth rate is not sustainable, and it will slow down in later stages of this year. However, this price increase will not stop altogether.
In costly markets, people will lean towards renting
Buying vs. renting is a debate that rages continually, and it is non ending. However, it proves easier for people to make a decision in favor of renting when prices of properties become prohibitive. This tilt towards renting will be clear in 2018 in costly housing markets where price increase will beat inflation, salaries, and wages of workers.
