Story by Erik J. Martin for Bankrate
Spring has sprung, a time when thoughts turn to love, or so the poets tell us. But will homebuyers and sellers be feeling the love this season, considering persistent low inventory and continued high mortgage interest rates?
For answers, we reached out to industry pros. Read on for their insights and forecasts on real estate trends over the next three months.
Where home prices are heading
We can expect a seasonal jump in home prices in Q2, as is typical this time of year. But, while sales volume may see a slight uptick during this period, the pace of sales could normalize, says Shirshikov, with homes taking a bit longer to sell compared to the frantic pace of recent years.
“CoreLogic’s forecast is for a 3 percent increase in home prices in 2024,” Hepp says. “Some markets could potentially see stronger gains, particularly in areas where home price appreciation lagged during the pandemic.”
Yun also believes home prices across April, May and June will rise slightly from a year ago, “but the increase in home supply is still insufficient to fully satisfy demand, which will cause multiple offers on homes to linger.”
Kenon Chen, executive vice president of strategy and growth at Clear Capital, also subscribes to that theory. “Year-over-year home appreciation continues to grow, but with supply currently remaining below the highs of 2022 and 2023, any increase in demand will continue to bolster home prices throughout quarter two,” he says.
