Portland Real Estate Market Heading Up

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The Portland real estate market is likely on an upswing, according to Lawrence Yun, chief economist of the National Association of Realtors and others who presented at the 2012 Realtors Conference and Expo. This is welcome news to nearly everyone involved in the real estate industry. As long as lenders are able to continue to lend, real estate market trends are almost all positive in the next few years, according to Yun. From inflation, to interest rates, to reconstruction, construction, fewer foreclosures on the market and pent-up demand for new homes, Yun touches on several areas that all point toward a positive next several years in real estate market trends.
Because of these trends, rises in home sales are forecast to rise upwards of 9% nationally in 2012 from last year, with additional increase projections of 8.7% in 2013 and another roughly 8% in 2014. “Real estate will be a hedge against inflation, with values rising 15 percent cumulatively over the next three years, also meaning there will be fewer upside-down home owners,” Yun said. And with interest rates predicted to rise gradually in 2013 to only around 4% and 4.6% in 2013 and 2014 respectively, these rates are still attractive to home buyers.
Attractive interest rates attract qualified buyers. This is not only positive for existing home sales, but also for new-home sales. In fact, new-home sales are expected to grow from 368,000 in 2012 to 575,000 in 2013, says Yun. But it’s worth noting that, “home sales and construction activity depend on steady job growth, which we are seeing…” Yun said. He also predicts GDP to grow 2.1% in 2012 and 2.5% in 2013, as well as a slow but steady unemployment rate decline to near 7.6% by the end of 2013.
With an expected decline in the unemployment rate and predicted growth in GDP in 2013, this may be a good sign that the economy and growth will continue. It seems the Portland real estate market trends are indeed looking up.
As always, there’s no time like the present to learn as much as one can about current real estate market trends. Here is a link to the National Association of Realtors website that hosts information drawn on in this article. And of course, you are always encouraged to consult your Portland real estate agent for the most current real estate market trends.

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