My 2012 Real Estate Forecast and Predictions - what is yours?

**laura.alamery** · 01-12-2012, 04:44 PM

Most individual real estate markets have reported an increase in prices and very few have seen a decline. This is a sign that there is stabilization and recovery in process. There is a good reason to believe that prices will start to increase slightly across the board by the end of 2012.
Appreciation is still a distant concept – being a buyers’ market and the mentality that everyone wants to submit a lowball offer on an already low price is going to slow down a value recovery.Mortgage interest rates will remain at historic lows, however home owmership rates continue to fall, due to lack of jobs stability and mortgage qualifying guidelines.This is leaving the door open to many foreign investments. USA is seen as #1 for real estate investments worldwide, both residential and commercial.Distressed properties actually represent the majority of housing inventory – this still includes a strong trend with short sales (lenders are improving and streamlining their short sale process, mainly due to strong government involvment) and foreclosures (REO properties – shadow inventory – are going to be released in the market more than in 2011.) Just Bank of America has claimed a 60% increase in short sales in 2011 over the previous year and they expect 2012 to be at the same level or more.Several lenders have started offering lease option sales. Homes that have been foreclosed are leased back to the homeowner through a lease option program and eventually are allowed to purchase the house back. This trend is going to become more popular in 2012, with so many REO properties sitting in “shadow inventory.”Bulk REO Trading will be on the rise. With so many homes foreclosed, waiting to be released in the market (banks are controlling how many homes are released at one time, so not to flood the depressed real estate market with distressed property prices and drive values down further,) banks are looking to sell these homes in packages to investors.Home remodeling and improvements will be on the rise – owners prefer adding or remodeling their existing home instead of trading up or buying a new home.

Would you like to add your input? I am interested in others opinions and facts.

**WinaltHome** · 01-16-2012, 07:44 AM

Here was my own (well, not 100% mine, but more like an overview from some professional) posts about predictions in the housing market for 2012.

There are a lot of things to watch out of course, and it is quite more risky this year - with only a few housing market really improving.

**century21gka** · 01-31-2012, 12:27 PM

Supply and demand. We have a surplus supply of housing now available. Prices will go down further eventually spurring more demand. I bet by 2015 the economy, including the housing market, will be perhaps bountiful or at least stable somewhat.

**The Ed Hellmuth Group** · 04-05-2012, 10:40 AM

It is up to the agent to educate their client on why putting in a lowball offer is usally a waste of time. So far this year we are seeing a huge decline in the available REO inventory and it is putting the market into a bit of a frenzy. Right now in Las Vegas we are seeing just about every house receive multiple offers and sell for above list price. This is especially true for REO properties which are receiving anywhere between 10-40 offers. It is too difficult to say at this point in time where the market is heading but depending on what the banks do we could start to see prices on the rise again in one of the hardest hit areas in the nation.

The Ed Hellmuth Group

**Malok** · 04-13-2012, 11:37 AM

Real estate is local, so its not particularly meaningful from a micro perspective how markets are doing elsewhere. (From a macro perspective, it of course can).

That being said, a lot of agents I talk to are saying things are improving overall.