Nothing really is permanent in this world but change and the real estate is subject to that. The housing industry can be as fickle as the weather due to the housing predictions that keep coming in.
In fact, according to to Zillow's 2016 housing market outlook via Business Insider, the affordability of housing which is deteriorating will drive housing trends in 2016. Yet, Lawrence Yun, chief economist of National Association of Realtors, predicted that there would be a modest increase in home sales by 2016. The source says his prediction may be possible, even far from wrong.
Moreover, Miami Herald published that there were 7.08 million home sales in 2005, 6.47 million in 2006, 5.03 million in 2007, and 5.09 million in 2013. Since 1989, the annual average home sales reached 4.72 million, according to Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. Part of these annual sales are that sold condos, co-ops, townhouses and single-family homes. An average of 5 million or more is even the new prediction this year but realtors say it may not be wiser to have such norm.
Other predictions are also based on the current state of economy of a country. Take for instance China, which is experiencing economic slowdown since last year. According to reports, investors consider China as no longer lining up at the eat-all-you-can buffet, so to speak. Source says that a country's economic recovery, specifically in prices of products, not to mention the wages that are not increasing, can really be difficult for first-time buyers to purchase homes as the prices are unaffordable to them. This scenario supports the prediction that there will be a decline in housing sales in 2016. President of Berkshire Hathaway Home Services, Stephen Phillips, even declared via Business Insider that the gap in the pace of acceleration between home prices and wages is decreasing in 2016, considering such as a "turning point" for the housing market.
On the flip side, nobody can really tell where this housing market is heading until things actually materialize. Nobody can also assert that every prediction is factual. The truth is, there are too many variables for accurate predictions, just like the weather, as per Alan J. Heavens of The Philadelphia Inquirer.
