Category: Opinion and predictions

HOMEiZ’s 8 predictions for the 2018 housing market

by HOMEiZ Blog Team Posted: 01/04/2018 Views: 1623

Social media network sites will play a major role to revolutionize the real estate transaction.

There is no doubt that the real estate world has changed drastically with the use of our more modern technologies available to us today. Arguably one of the biggest differences comes with communications. Keeping this in mind, it is important to stay in communication with our customers through whatever devices they are using. Although social media wasn’t originally designed for business use, one cannot deny the increasing number of real estate agents using these types of platforms for their marketing and communication.

Real estate agents to use more social networks in 2018

In 2018 real estate agents focus will be more on engaging with their clients rather than just posting a listing on real estate portals.More and more real estate agents will use social networks sites in 2018 as a way of connecting with their customers.Posting real estate listings information on their own sites and information on their services, will not be enough for real estate agents in 2018. More and more real estate agents will use social networks sites in 2018 as a way of connecting with their customers and it will play a major role in their business.

Millennials Are Changing the Housing Market

Millennials are quickly changing the face of real estate.
In 2018 more than 77% of Millennial home buyers will use social media network sites to search for a home.
Millennials hold a lot of buying power in today's real estate market and they love social media networks. They spent hours on these sites researching just for almost anything, so they are naturally going to do even more research when it comes to buying a home.Communication and transparency for them are the number one on their list when doing business.

Real estate agents are here to stay

Experts have been predicting the demise of real estate agents for years. Real estate agents are not going anywhere. On the contrary, in 2018 the consumer will need and will use real estate agents more than ever as massive data represented online, will need to have a professional interpretation.The agents will need to make a transition and to become experts in their servicing locations. In 2018, the name real estate agent will be replaced to a real estate expert.

Inventory to remain low in 2018

The low supply of inventory will continue to push home prices up as they outpace rising incomes. Rising home prices combined with higher interest rates, will cause affordability to decrease in 2018.One of the main reasons for low inventory, is, ironically, the fear of low inventory. Homeowners will be hesitant to put their home on the market as they are unsure if they will be able to find a new home in their budget once they sell theirs.

Mortgage rates

Mortgage rates will rise even more in 2018. Homeowners are less likely to put their homes up for sale because they don't want to forfeit their current low interest rate.Mortgage rates are expected to average 4.7% throughout the year, but reach 5% for the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage by the end of 2018. Mortgage rates will continue rising, and could pass 5% over the next few years.

Commercial Real Estate

Overall, the outlook for commercial real estate in 2018 is not bad. Multifamily will still be strong, though not quite as strong as a few years ago. Rents will all be pretty much positive across sectors. Expect a 3 percent to 7 percent drop in 2018 and that’s after a 90 percent increase over the past seven years.
2018 won’t be as busy for many commercial real estate agents and investors as it was in 2015,2016 and 2017, due to buyers will see rising interest rates and won’t want to adjust their offers to meet seller demands. The result will likely be a 5 percent to 10 percent decline in unit sales. More Shopping malls will be for sale in 2018 as retail is going through an evolution.

Worry about a housing bubble.

Home prices have been rising at the speed of light, causing many economists and housing experts to sound the alarm for an impending housing bubble. The last up-cycle was an exception, running 17 years before home prices crashed spectacularly in 2006 and finally began a sustained rebound in 2012. When consumers and/or investors are willing to pay more for an asset just because others are doing it or because they think prices will increase indefinitely, that creates a bubble.