As 2012 comes to a close, the U.S. housing market remains one of the bright spots of the economy. In November, existing home sales rose 5.9% to an annualized rate of 5 million, beating what experts predicted on Wall Street. Last month was the 17th consecutive month of the housing market growing, and the highest level of sales since November 2009! Adding to the good news: The national price for an existing home rose 10.1% to $180,600 in November.
“I think housing is going to continue to improve,” says Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics. “So for the next 3 or 4 years we will see better home sales, more housing construction and higher house prices. All of which is good news for the economic recovery.”
Even though there is roughly 3 million homes out there in foreclosure, Zandi is very optimistic about housing market due to buyers demand.
Here are the key points of his housing outlook for next year and beyond:
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The recovery looks to be healthy, and growing, for the next 2-4 years.
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Expect a rise in sales, construction and prices, which could positively impact GDP. “Housing is a small share of GDP but can be a big part of GDP growth,” Zandi says.
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Investor demand for foreclosed properties will be high.
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An increasing rate of household formation will lead to greater demand.
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New home construction will pick up.
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Home prices will rise by mid-to-high single digits in 2014 and 2015.
What does this information mean for the Orange County or Huntington Beach real estate market? Overall if the national housing market is strong that means that coastal California real estate is definitely going to be on the rise. Southern California real estate is its own animal. When the market crashed we saw the declines in Huntington Beach be about half the national average. The national average during the 08-10 decline in real estate was about 55%. Huntington Beach was around 25%. When the national market goes up The coastal cities also outperform by 1.5x.
These stats don’t apply to just single family homes. If you own or are thinking of buying a Huntington Beach townhome or condo these stats also apply to you. This is great news as the country and also Orange County real estate market is looking to be on the rise in the near future.
Thank you for reading! If you have any questions about this report or Orange County, Huntington Beach or Costa Mesa real estate we would love to assist. Please call or text me directly at 714-655-1627