Existing-home sales are forecasted to rise about 7 percent in 2015 behind a strengthening economy, solid job gains, and a healthy increase in home prices, according to the National Association of Realtor’s economist, Lawrence Yun.
Despite his forecasted increase in sales, Yun cites the following items which could slow the increase in home sales. These speed bumps are the anticipated rise in interest rates, lenders being slow to ease underwriting standards back to normalized levels, and homeowners unwilling to move because they are comfortable with their current low interest rate.
With one month of data remaining in 2014, Yun expects total existing-homes sales to finish the year around 4.94 million (down 3 percent from 2013), but then rise to 5.30 million in 2015. The national median existing-home price for 2014 will be close to $208,000, up 5.6 percent from 2013, and is expected to moderate to a pace between 4 and 5 percent in 2015.Â
In other positive news the FHA has announced it will be lowering the mortgage insurance premium. This will make it easier for hundreds of thousands of home buyers to get a mortgage and provide greater access to homeownership. In addition this will increase the volume of borrowers using FHA-backed loans.
