Real Estate Predictions for 2012

With economic growth being slow and the jobs market not necessarily picking up, the same can be said of real estate prices which continue to stay low, and give real estate professionals little or nothing to be cheerful about. However, it was good news for landlords and property managers as rents rose in 2011.

So what could we expect in real estate trends in 2012?

#1: The rise of rents will continue throughout the year of 2012, and according to experts by about 2.5 %.

#2: The price of homes will continue to decline until the second quarter of 2012 and then the rates will stabilize for the rest of the year.

#3: Shadow inventory, in regards to real estate, means homes that are either in foreclosure or homes that are not yet sold. It could also mean homes that have not yet been put out for sale by owners as they are waiting for prices to lift again. This will remain a topic of much discussion throughout the year as experts believe that at least 1-2 years of shadow inventory remains.

#4:  While national real estate trends indicate an improvement, local housing markets depends strongly on the jobs market. While housing markets like Washington DC haven’t seen a recession at all, there are others like Las Vegas that have taken a real hit. So, once the job markets improve, this will spill over into local housing markets as well.

#5: Cash will continue to remain king, as it is only people with a lot of cash that are obtaining loans. This means that people have to put down more cash than they had to do so a few years ago.