Our Predictions for the 2019 Real Estate Market
Here we are at the end of 2018! Today we’ll be discussing our 2019 real estate predictions.
As we all know, in 2018, the markets were very, very good. In the past few weeks, we’ve seen a shift in the market, and we expect that to remain a continuing trend moving into 2019. The driving forces behind that shift are mortgage rates, which were changed by the Fed fund rate. Rates were increased a couple of times in 2018, and by the time this article gets to you, they might have increased yet another time. Rates are also expected to increase as 2019 progresses.
What effect will these rate increases have on the market? We expect that they will continue to slow down the markets. Right now, we’re at 5%, which is an eight-year high in terms of interest rates; however, rates in general are still historically low.
For 2019, we expect that buyers are going to continue to try to enter the market before those rates rise even more. One thing that could slow that process down is if unemployment rates start to increase. We’re still at historically low unemployment rates, as well, but if that number increases, it will have a negative impact on the market. We don’t have any reason to anticipate that happening in the coming year.
Inventory levels are also at an all-time low. This coming year, we’ll likely see inventory rates pick up as well. That means we’ll likely see our days on market increase compared to where it is now.
“All in all, we don’t expect any huge increases or decreases in 2019. Likely, we’ll just be riding the highs and lows, but staying overall steady throughout the year.”
Additionally, we expect to see a balancing of the market in 2019. We’re coming out of a seller’s market at the moment, so we’ll probably see buyers having more opportunities to get into the market.
This will affect sellers, especially those trading up for another home. Since inventory is low, they might be hesitant to list their current home for fear of being unable to find another to buy. They won’t want to take the chance of buying a home while thinking that we’re at the top of the market, which is what many people went through back in the 2008 housing crisis.
All in all, we don’t expect any huge increases or decreases in 2019. Likely, we’ll just be riding the highs and lows, but staying overall steady throughout the year.
If you have any questions or are thinking of buying or selling in 2019, feel free to reach out to us. We look forward to seeing you in the new year!