After years of mapping a choppy recovery, the real estate market of the United States is finally returning to normal, according to Zillow's latest property data.
Zillow's results for the third quarter showed that the housing market is slowing down now with prices appreciating at a slower pace, more unsold inventory available for sale and mortgage rates at record lows. Also, since the market slows down typically by the end of the year due to the holiday season and the winter, the current deceleration marks a new normal.
Starting August 2012, home values started to shoot up across the country. Several experts expressed their concern over another emergent housing bubble and eventually when the housing stall occurred due to the cold freeze in January 2014, concerns mounted.
However, as months passed the indicators slowly bounced back to normal with sales in the spring and summer typically heating up and now losing steam.
"We always knew these market conditions couldn't last, and it's good to see us now on a more natural and sustained glide path down toward more normal market conditions," Stan Humphries, the chief economist at Zillow, said in a statement.
Other experts too echo Zillow's faith in the sustained growth in the property market of the country. A recent report titled "Emerging Trends in Real Estate® The global outlook for 2015" conducted by PwC LLP and the Urban Land Institute highlighted certain trends that will take over the property sector in the coming years.
"Unlike previous reports and previous cycles, we are seeing sustained growth. In the past several years, we reported that real estate market participants' main fears revolved around the uncertainty with the economy," Mitch Roschelle, a real estate advisory practice leader and a partner at PwC, said in the report.
"Now, the trepidation in their eyes has more to do with the ability of the growing real estate markets to adapt to a series of megatrends impacting society and the global economy. These megatrends include accelerating urbanization, demographic shifts, and the impact of distributive technological advancements," Roschelle added.
The housing market depends greatly on the economy of the country and despite pessimism surrounding the Ebola outbreak and the global market slowdown, the U.S. economy has been expanding since the recession ended. In fact, according to MarketWatch, the country could soon record the strongest and longest period of economic growth in nine years.
"The fundamentals of the economy are stronger now. We don't have the same drag from government-spending cuts. Corporate balance sheets are pretty good. Households have less debt. The economy is adding 200,000 jobs a month," Gus Faucher, senior economist at PNC Financial Services, told the website.
