Where is the Housing Market Headed in 2019?

Where is the housing market headed in 2019?

The real estate market is projected to have a great 2019. Interest rates are expected to rise, which will limit how much some buyers will be able to afford, but it will also mean that price appreciation will start to slow to more normal levels. (Home prices are still increasing, but not as quickly as they have in recent years.) Even with mortgage interest rates rising, you can still secure a lower rate than your parents or grandparents could have in years past.

Home prices are expected to rise at a rate of about 4.8% over the course of 2019. The historic normal home price appreciation is 3.6% per year. In the Nashville / Murfreesboro Tennessee area, we have seen about 10% annual home price appreciation in recent years. The predicted 4.8% increase is based on national figures. If middle TN home prices trend with the rest of the country, I expect to see home values in our area to increase at a rate higher than the national 4.8% number.

Experts at Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae, MBA, and NAR anticipate that home sales will outpace 2018. In 2018, there were approximately 6 million home sales. Depending on which reporting agency you ask, this will increase by anywhere from 40,000 to 170,000 in 2019. In the Middle TN area, we would expect to see an increase in sales as more inventory comes on the market, population increases, and buyers make a purchase now while they can still get historically low interest rates.

Bottom Line

No one can see the future, but previous reports indicating that both prices and rates will rise have been proven correct. More of the same is expected. As interest rates and prices both rise, the monthly mortgage payment on a home purchased a year from now will be dramatically more expensive than it would be today. Whether you are thinking of buying or selling, it will probably be easier to do that now than in the near future.

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Aaron Lovett is a full-service Realtor in Smyrna, TN. His service area includes Smyrna, Murfreesboro, the remainder of Rutherford county and surrounding areas, including Nashville-Davidson and Williamson counties. He cares for the needs of sellers, buyers, and investors. Aaron has lived in the area for over a decade. He takes pride in helping home buyers and sellers reach their real estate goals.