Next Year will be hard on the housing market, especially in big cities such as New York!

Sales of existing homes will fall 1.8% from 2019, according to the forecast.
Home prices will flatten nationally, increasing just 0.8% annually, but prices will fall in a quarter of the 100 largest metropolitan markets.

As demand heats up in the spring, driven by the growing number of millennials entering the market, the supply of homes for sale could hit its lowest in history.

Home sales will drop, the housing shortage could become the worst in U.S. history, and home values will shrink in some cities. That’s the 2020 forecast from realtor.com, which holds one of the largest databases of housing statistics available.
Sales of existing homes will fall 1.8% from 2019, according to the forecast. Home prices will flatten nationally, increasing just 0.8% annually, but prices will fall in a quarter of the 100 largest metropolitan markets.

It is a seemingly contrary assessment, given the current strength of the economy and of homebuyer demand, but the dynamics of this housing market are unlike any other — the result of a housing crash unlike any other.

It’s all about supply. The inventory of homes for sale has been falling steadily for several years and is at its lowest on the lowest end of the market. That caused prices to overheat, weakening affordability. The 2020 forecast offers no relief, in fact just the opposite. As demand heats up in the spring, driven by the growing number of millennials entering the market, the supply of homes for sale could hit its lowest in history. The situation will only be exacerbated by the baby boom generation, which, according to the forecast, will have little incentive to sell, given weaker home prices.
“While millennials share many similar traits with prior generations, they have been marked by a delay in major life milestones, including starting a family and purchasing a home,” said Ratiu. “Millennials not only purchased a higher-priced first home but faced with growing families, many of them skipped the traditional starter home and moved straight to a mid-priced, trade-up home.”

That dynamic will continue in 2020 and added pressure on the middle range of the market. Millennials will dominate the housing market, accounting for 50% of all mortgages by spring, according to the forecast. Just short of 5 million millennials will turn 30, which is when many people buy their first home, and the oldest will turn 39, generally when family dynamics kick in and people move to larger homes in the suburbs.

Single-family construction will increase in 2020, up 6% annually, according to the forecast, but that will not alleviate the supply crunch.

At Century 21 Milestone, We have over 30 years of experience to help you buy and sell peacefully. Call us  Tel#  718-291-7000