2006 concluded with the third-highest home sales on record with a total of 6.48 million transactions. Total sales are currently forecasted at 6.44 million for the current year and 6.64 million during 2008.
New home construction will take longer to recover. 2006 closed with a total of 1.06 million new homes sold, marking the fourth-best sales year on record. Sales of new homes are currently projected to be 961,000 units this year and 971,000 next year.
Other key highlights of NAR's forecast are:
Housing starts are projected to total 1.52 million this year, which is down form the 2006 figure of 1.80 million units. This number is projected to increase to 1.56 million in 2008.
Rates of 30-Year fixed mortgages are forecasted to rise to 6.7% by the 2nd half of 2007. The fixed rate was reported at 6.14% last December and has been trending upwards ever since.
Nationwide median price of existing-homes is projected to grow 1.9% to $226,200 this year. The price rose only 1.1% last year. Nationwide median price for new homes is projected to increase 1.8% up to $249,000 this year. This increase would be similar to the increase of last year.
National Unemployment Rate is projected to average out at 4.7% this year, a slight increase over last year. The Consumer Price Index measures inflation which is projected to come in at 2.0% for 2007. This is down from 3.2% from last year. Growth in the U.S. gross domestic product is projected to be at 2.8% this year, which is down from 3.4% in 2006. Inflation adjusted personal disposable income is expected to rise to 3.7% this year, which reflects an increase from 2.7% in 2006.
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