Lower prices entice people who may not have been in the market before.
Home price growth is slowing down and that could spell good news for buyers who were previously priced out of the market. According to CoreLogic’s Home Price Index (HPI) and HPI Forecast for December 2018, though home prices increased by 4.7 percent year-over-year, they’re projected to grow at a slightly lower rate of 4.6 percent year-over-year through December 2019. Comparing the annual average HPI and HPI forecast for 2018 and 2019, price growth is forecasted to slow from 5.8 percent to 3.4 percent, the report indicated. Prices are expected to decrease by 1.0 percent on a month-over-month basis between December 2018 and January 2019.
These trends are likely to represent good news for potential homeowners. In 2018, CoreLogic together with RTi Research of Norwalk, Connecticut, conducted a survey measuring consumer-housing sentiment, assessing attitudes toward homeownership and the driving force behind the decision to buy or rent a home. According to this survey, when renters were asked how interested they were in owning a home or residence, 36 percent felt homeownership would allow them to fulfill a dream and provide a place to raise a family. On the other hand, 45 percent of those surveyed claimed they could not afford to buy or take on the responsibility of ownership at this time. However, the latest HPI report indicated that as home-price growth cooled and incomes rose, buyer affordability was likely to improve and help “home sales to pick up.”
Source: MReport