2017 Real Estate Market Trends: Did They Happen?

From inventory shortages to western migration and video usage in real estate marketing, did these 2017 trends take the market as predicted?

Millennials and Boomers Driving the Market

Millennials remain the largest group of home buyers (34 percent) for the fourth consecutive year. However, 85 percent of Boomers have no plans to sell in the next year, contributing to the lack of affordable homes on the market.

A Slow Down in Price Appreciation

With inventory at 20-year low, and demand heavy, prices don't appear to be slowing down, except in certain markets/neighborhoods where upward limits have weakened affordability. If mortgage rates continue moving on up, demand may slow with pricing/affordability, but they're still higher than historical norms.

Fewer Homes, Faster Sales

A record number of buyers and few affordable homes make this one of the fastest moving markets in decades. In May, one in three homes sold in under 30 days nationally, with a median listing time of 60 days.

Shoppers Turn to Video

One-hundred percent of home shoppers used the internet to research a specific home, with 86 percent of shoppers relying on video usage in real estate marketing to learn more about communities, and 70 percent of shoppers toured homes via video – some of which make the home purchase sight unseen!

Popular Western Markets Top the Charts

The hottest markets in the country are currently:

• Vallejo, CA
• San Francisco, CA
• Boston, MA
• Sacramento, CA
• Kennewick, WA
• Colorado Springs, CO
• Columbus, OH
• Midland, TX
• San Jose, CA
• Stockton, CA

The Midwest Moving to the Top of the Affordable Housing Market

Ranked on affordability by the U.S. Census, these cities, with populations of 1 million+, topped affordability charts:

• Rochester, NY
• Buffalo-Cheeektown-Niagara Falls, NY
• Pittsburg, PA
• Kansas City, MO
• Indianapolis-Carmel-Anderson, IN
• Grand Rapids-Wyoming, MI
• Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX
• San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX
• Dallas-Arlington-Fort Worth, TX
• Oklahoma City, OK

To view the original article, visit the Properties Online blog.