I’m predicting quite a few changes for our market this year. Here are five of them to expect in 2019.
It’s 2019 and I’m here to give you my predictions about what to expect from our real estate market this year:
1. Interest rates will go up. The government wants interest rates to be higher so they can stimulate the economy. As long as unemployment stays low and healthy, I think that’s going to continue to happen. There’s a lot of talk about a looming recession, but I predict a modest interest rate increase to the mid-5% range by the end of the year.
2. Home values will go up. However, some suburbs will see flat appreciation or even depreciation.
3. Home sales will go down. This is going to come down to affordability. We have not been able to get affordable homes built in quite some time. We might see a 1% to 2% change from last year bat maximum.
“More opportunities are coming to the market for homebuyers.”
4. Inventory levels will go up. New construction is hitting the market in the medium-to-high price ranges, which is good news for homebuyers.
5. Home affordability will go down. With interest rates and home values climbing up a bit, this will cause affordability to go down.
Overall, I think we’re going to see a good market in 2019. It won’t be steaming hot, but there will be more opportunities for homebuyers than there have been. Things will still be good for sellers as long as they realize the type of market they’re in is not the same one we’ve been seeing for the past few years.
If you have any questions for me about the Portland real estate market or about real estate in general, don’t hesitate to give me a call or send me an email. I look forward to hearing from you soon.
