Page 34 - EQ Mag-issue 5

FIRST-TIME HOMEBUYER RESOURCE

Expert Predictions For

Mortgage Rates, Home Prices,

Tech And More

By: Aly J. Yale

A m e r i c a n , t h e r e ’s
“emerging consensus”
that rates will remain
low next year—likely
somewhere between
3.7% and 3.9%, she
says.

Forecasts from Freddie
Mac and the Mortgage
Bankers Association
back this up, both
predicting 2020 rates
within this range.
Fannie Mae actually
predicts rates will clock
i n e v e n l o w e r ,
vacillating between
3 . 5 % a n d 3 . 6 %
throughout the year.
E XPERTS WEIGH IN ON WHAT WE CAN EXPECT economist for online mortgage lender Better.com,
Sean Hundtofte, chief
FOR THE 2020 HOUSING MARKET.
says that thanks to these continued low rates,
refinancing should remain a popular choice in the
The 2019 housing market has been one of low rates, new year. And for homebuyers, he says, they’ll “be
high demand and limited supply—particularly on the able to afford more house than they would have
lower-priced end of the market. otherwise.”

Will 2020 be more of the same? According to experts, PRICES WILL KEEP ON RISING.
yes and no. We spoke to six mortgage, real estate,
and housing professionals. Here’s what they say is in Home prices will continue their climb upward,
store for the year to come: according to experts, largely thanks to tight
inventory and high demand.
MORTGAGE RATES WILL STAY LOW—OR MAYBE GO
LOWER. According to the latest home price forecast from
property data firm CoreLogic, home prices should
Mortgage rates currently sit at 3.75%, according to tick up by 5.6% by next September—up from the just
Freddie Mac’s most recent numbers—nearly a 1% 3.5% jump we saw this year.
difference from the monthly average a year ago. The
drop in rates caused a surge in refinancing over the As Daryl Fairweather, chief economist for real estate
last few months, and purchase activity ticked up as brokerage Redfin, explains, “Right now we aren’t
well. seeing a ton of new listings. Without more listings
coming on the market, there will be more
According to Odeta Kushi, deputy chief economist at competition starting off in early 2020 and that will
title insurance and settlement services provider First lead to more price pressure.”

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