Forecasts for the American RE market in 2020

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What can be a forecast of home buying activity for 2020 in US?

Well, nobody can ever say for sure what price twist the market will see during the year, but economists predict it to be positive for home buyers and renters. The ground for such upbeat assessment are mortgage rates taking a tumble or at least remain flat during the year. From this point of view, it will cause an upward tendency on the housing market, while high mortgage rates usually foreshadow a drastic slowdown in sales, like it happened in the first half of 2019.

The first scenario, according to Skylar Olsen, economic research director at Zillow Group, will be good news for those, willing to buy property as the mortgage payments remain affordable.

Low mortgage rates also play on the side of home builders, saving high construction activity. However, as the supply remains low, construction companies have to double their efforts to keep up with the demand.

Nevertheless, Realtor.com has predicted that sales can face a significant drop in 2020, even despite the low supply and at the same time high demand. The reason is a constant price growth, which outruns inflation and wage increase. People cannot simply afford to buy real estate in such circumstances.

What’s your expectations on the matter?