Tag Archives: Forecast

Looking at the year ahead, Fitch predicts a bounce in both supply and demand for homes as the economy continues to steadily expand and both employment measures and consumer confidence see improvement. With housing starts and new home sales expected to advance, Fitch sees a possibility of higher revenues for homebuilders.

In a survey of 45 economists conducted by the Wall Street Journal, the panel largely agreed that throughout all of 2014, housing proved to be the weakest link in the economic chain, with weak household formations weighing down on demand and production.

In keeping with other recently released predictions, the latest housing forecast from market research firm IHS Global Insight calls for modest growth in home sales in 2015 following what's been a disappointing year. In her outlook, IHS economist Stephanie Karol focuses on two major trends that have shaped the housing market in 2014.

Among its five largest predictions for next year, Realtor.com expects first-time buyers will return to the market in full force after years of retrenchment that has dampened the recovery of the housing market. This push will be led by millennials, now settling into their families, careers, and 30s, who are eager to buy into the American dream.

In his 2015 outlook, Zillow's chief economist, Dr. Stan Humphries, predicts millennials will take on a much greater presence in the housing market, overtaking Generation X as the largest group of homebuyers.

Real estate information firm CoreLogic reported a 0.5 percent monthly uptick and a 6.1 percent annual gain in its October Home Price Index (HPI). As of October, 27 states and the District of Columbia were at or within 10 percent of their home price peaks, and nine had achieved new record highs.

Despite slower economic growth in recent months following a strong showing in mid-2014, Fannie Mae's Economic and Strategic Research Group says that it still expects 2015 to be a slightly better year overall economically in the United States.

In Freddie Mac's latest Economic and Housing Market Outlook for the United States, the company's economists turn their attention away from 2014—a mixed year for housing, especially compared to 2013—and toward 2015, which they say will see continued strengthening in the market for home purchase mortgages as the economy improves on a broad basis.

Where the U.S. housing market is concerned, Fannie Mae chief economist Doug Duncan said he is anticipating weaker home sales in 2014 than in 2013—but 2015 looks better. Meanwhile, the slowdown in economic growth this year has not dimmed the outlook among Fannie Mae's economists.

Now that the overall economy is on more solid ground, Wells Fargo economists suggest that housing may soon follow in its footsteps. While some predict that the housing market is poised for more rentals than buys for years to come, particularly among millennials, Wells Fargo suggests the contrary.