Housing is anticipated to continue progressing, even with market forces keeping a heavy lid on home-building, according to the latest Outlook by analysts at Freddie Mac. Housing starts, which have not kept pace with demand due to increasing costs and lack of labor and lots, are expected to end 2017 at 1.27 million—far behind historical norms.
“A decade after the Great Recession, the housing market is rebounding,” says Sean Becketti, chief economist at Freddie Mac. “House prices today are higher than they were at the peak in the summer of 2006, near-record-low mortgage rates have boosted housing demand, and sales volume is robust. The spoiler is the lean inventory of houses for sale. Nationally, just over five months of supply is for sale and hot markets are much tighter than the national average. So far, residential construction is not doing much to fill the gap.”
Source: Freddie Mac
