More homes are predicted to be sold this year than in more than a decade. In 2017, the number of existing-home sales is expected to increase about 3.5 percent to 5.64 million. By 2018, existing-home sales will likely rise another 2.8 percent to 5.8 million, according to forecasts by the National Association of REALTORS®.
The rise in new jobs, pent-up household formation, and increasing consumer confidence are helping to propel the housing market forward, says Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist.
The new-home sector is also expected to see a surge over the next year. New-home sales are expected to rise 10.7 percent this year to 620,000. The sector is also expected to tick up another 8 percent in 2018 to 670,000 sales, NAR predicts.
Buyers are likely to face higher prices on homes. Prices are expected to increase 5 percent in 2017 and another 3.5 percent in 2018, NAR predicts.
"As a result, buyers are compromising on the number of rooms, length of a commute, or other home qualities," says Joseph Kirchner, senior economist of realtor.com®. "Meanwhile, builders are mostly building for the mid- to upper price range. This mismatch in supply and demand is making affordability more acute for those with modest incomes."
To still get in, buyers are devoting higher percentage of their incomes toward homeownership or compromising on smaller homes or a home farther from the city center where they work.
“They may need to spend more of their disposable income," Bajuk says. "Or they may need to lower their expectations on what kind of home they get."
Source: “Home Sales Expected to Soar Through 2018: What Buyers Need to Know,” realtor.com® (May 18, 2017)
