March 25, 2014

REALTORS® expect home prices to continue to rise over the next 12 months. But they expect them to do so at a moderate pace, given tight credit conditions and the chipping away of home affordability, according to the latest REALTORS® Confidence Index, a monthly survey distributed to more than 50,000 real estate practitioners to gauge expectations over home sales, prices, and market conditions.

Real estate professionals reported a median price expectation of 3.9 percent over the next 12 months.

The states where practitioners are predicting the biggest increases—5 to 7 percent—are in California, Florida, Alaska, and Hawaii. Tight inventories have helped to lift home values in these areas, according to the survey.

“In states with booming economies like Washington, North Dakota, Texas, Michigan, and the D.C.-metro area, the expected price increase is about 3 to 5 percent,” according to the report.

Real estate professionals also expressed several concerns over the housing market holding back some buyers, particularly due to “unreasonably” tight credit conditions.

“Access to credit was often cited as a deterrent to home buying,” according to the report. “About 13 percent of REALTORS® who did not close a sale in February reported having clients who could not obtain financing.”

In those cases, about 6 percent of the professionals said their buyer gave up, while 7 percent said their buyer continued to seek new or other financing. Other transaction hang-ups were lack of agreement on a price (accounting for 11 percent); buyer losing a home to competition (10 percent); and appraisal issues (3 percent).

By REALTOR® Magazine Daily News

 
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John J. O’Dell Realtor® GRI
O’Dell Realty
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