Recent data has shown that home prices are increasing and according to the latest reports, they are expected to keep ascending into 2013. There are many industry experts who attribute certain factors, such as a rising demand for new homes for sale, dwindling inventory levels, and an increase in home sales, to be the contributors to the current uptick in home prices. Fairly steady housing market trends that have been observed over the course of the year, have led to widespread expectations of continued increases in home prices come 2013.
An article posted online last week by the Wall Street Journal, reports that analysts from J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. predict U.S. home prices to rise next year by 3.4%, according to their ‘base-case’ calculations. In their most cogent scenario of economic growth, J.P. Morgan analysts also expect that home prices could surge to 9.7% in 2013. Standard & Poor’s, which rates private issue mortgage bonds, said that it foresees a 5% home price rise in 2013.
2012 has already shown a substantial rise in home prices. In a year-over-year comparison conducted by CoreLogic, October 2012 showed U.S. home prices to have gone up by 6.3% nationwide, which was the largest gain seen since the spring of 2006.
This year also represents the first time since 2006 that the ‘net demand’ for housing exceeded two million homes, said a strategist at the investment bank, John Sim. Once past the two million territory, you are in the positive growth area, unless there is a lot of distressed inventory, which, in 2012 reached a low point, said Sim. J.P. Morgan predicts the net demand to increase 2.7 million in 2013 from 2.3 million seen in 2012.
With mortgage rates maintaining record lows, there is an elevated sense of urgency among home buyers who have been searching for new homes for sale, since in past years, have found themselves just sitting on the fence waiting out the storm. Now, more prospective home buyers are choosing to take advantage of favorable market conditions and buy new homes in beautiful new golf home communities, like Ross Bridge, while current conditions last and before these anticipated price jumps occur.