California home prices are predicted to improve in 2012 according to recent forecast released by the California Association of Realtors.
According to CAR this will only be a slight improvement due to the sluggish economic recovery, continued uncertainty about the future and lending challenges for mortgages.
For the most part the housing market in California and the Sacramento area could be described as moving sideways with little if any momentum up or down.
The 2012 forecast for California is a 1 percent increase in the number of homes sold to 496,200. This compares an expected 491,000 sales this year and 491,500 in 2010.
In terms of price, CAR is projecting a median price increase of 1.7 percent in 2012 to $296,000. This is on the heels of a projected drop for 2011 to $291,000 and the double digit drop in 2010.
Although any increase in sales and median price is good news, the housing market in California and here in the Sacramento area will be going through a transition in 2012 as we wade through the all the uncertainty of the financial market, economy, and job growth.
I continue to believe we need housing to help drive the economic recovery but buyers are and will remain cautious even with the opportunities of today’s affordable housing market.
