Does the Future Look Good for Home Prices?

CoreLogic’s Home Price Index showed that home prices nationwide fell by 0.4% from November to December but they were 6.9% higher when compared to December of 2021. This annual appreciation reading declined from 8.6% in November but is still solid. CoreLogic forecasts that home prices will drop 0.2% in January but rise 3% in the year going forward.

What’s the bottom line? CoreLogic’s Chief Economist Selma Hepp said that while home prices in December “continued to fall from November, the rate of decline was lower than that seen in the summer and still adds up to only a 3% cumulative drop in prices since last spring’s peak.” This is a far cry from a housing crash of 20% that some in the media have been predicting.

And while CoreLogic has reported slightly negative readings month to month, they still forecast 3% appreciation nationwide over the next year, which can be meaningful for wealth creation.

In addition, Zillow and Pulsenomics released their Home Price Expectations Survey for the fourth quarter of last year. Survey participants included 117 of the top economists in the country and they were asked about their expectations for home price appreciation over the next five years.

Results showed that respondents’ average expected appreciation over the next five years is 23.3% cumulatively. To quantify this, if someone bought a $500,000 home and we saw 23% appreciation over the next five years, they would gain $115,000 in appreciation alone. This data shows there is great opportunity ahead in the housing market, despite the negativity you may hear in the media.

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