As Plus COO Joe Benevides noted in a recent post, experts predict that a strong job market and low mortgage rates should sustain the housing market in 2020. The problem will be finding enough homes for buyers due to scarcity in housing stock.
Why is there a shortage? Not enough homes are being built and homeowners are staying put longer. So most experts are saying that the housing market will stay about the same with maybe some slight movement upwards.
NerdWallet agrees and has ventured to provide these 10 trends to expect in 2020:
- Mortgage rates will stay low
- It will be hard to find homes to buy
- Lack of affordability will hold back home sales
- Believers in climate change pay less
- Sellers could see multiple offers again
- Borrowers might find a broader selection of FHA lenders
- Homeowners will stay, not sell
- Homeowners sit on their equity
- iBuyers (like Opendoor, Zillow Offers, Offerpad and RedfinNow) make their move
- Wars over the MLS system could change home-selling (enter REX)
Location, location, location? Across the country, here are a few expectations: Realtor.com predicts that prices nationally will flatten, increasing 0.8 percent. Prices are likely to decline in Chicago, Dallas, Las Vegas, Miami and San Francisco.
Then, according to NAR, these 10 markets are expected to have home price appreciation that outpaces the rest of the country over the next three to five years: Ogden, Utah; Las Vegas; Fort Collins, Colo.; Colorado Springs; Dallas/Fort Worth; Columbus, Ohio; Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill, N.C.; Charlotte; Charleston, S.C.; and Tampa/St. Petersburg, Fla.