The housing market has been off to a roar this spring. In fact, the market is performing so strongly that the National Association of REALTORS® has upgraded its forecast for the year.
At the start of the year, home sales were expected to match last year’s pace due to higher mortgage rates and diminishing affordability. But the market is hardly slowing down, notes Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist. He now predicts existing-home sales to rise by 3.5 percent, and home prices likely will increase 5 percent this year.
“With no imminent threat of a recession, the housing market’s strong first quarter sets the foundation for continued gains the rest of the year,” Yun writes.
Source: “First Quarter GDP May Be Cool, But Housing Market Downright Balmy,” The Hill (May 1, 2017)