According to recent information released by Fannie Mae, about one in every four people think that home prices are going to fall soon. If you are among those who believe this, here are some things that you need to take note of.
A lot of this sentiment is more than likely born from what we are seeing in headlines or in the media, but we all must remember that this sort of hyped-up news sells. It is important to consult professionals in the industry to get the real story of what is happening in general and in your area.
Home Prices Increased For Most of Last Year
Case-Shiller puts out data every month regarding home price trends. If you review their data from 2023 you would see that with the exception of January 2023 every month had month-over-month price increases ranging between 0.2% and 0.9%. It is also worth pointing out that in January most markets do see things go through a winter slow so that would be relatively normal. Fewer people are looking to move during the holidays and at the start of the year so there is less activity happening then. Also, even the actual amount of decline seen in January at -0.2% was very small compared to the much larger ranges of increases that were seen happening all year.
To recap on all of that, Case Shiller explains: “Month-over-month numbers were relatively flat, . . . However, the annual growth was more significant for both indices, rising 7.4 percent and 6.6 percent, respectively.”
So if one of the expert organizations who records home price trends says the very small dips are nothing to be concerned about then why should we be worried? Even Case-Shiller is noting how those were negligible and how home prices actually saw increases over the year. So in the end the data shows that in the big picture, the home prices increased over the past year. If you have questions about what’s going on with home prices in your local area, make sure you reach out and speak with a trusted real estate professional such as myself.
