What should you expect for the 2014 housing market? Trulia’s Chief Economist, Jed Kolko, dipped into
the data to find out. Check out his predictions for the five ways that the 2014 housing market will be
different from 2013, as well as the top 10 cities to watch as we enter the new year.
Barring any economic crises, the housing market should continue to normalize throughout
2014, but change is on the horizon. Here are five ways that the 2014 housing market will be
different from 2013:
1. Housing Affordability Worsens.
Buying a home will be more expensive in 2014 than in 2013. Although home-price increases should slow
from this year’s unsustainably fast pace, prices will still rise faster than both incomes and rents. Also,
mortgage rates will be higher in 2014 than in 2013, thanks both to the strengthening economy—rates
tend to rise in recoveries—and to Fed tapering, whenever it comes. The rising cost of homeownership
will add insult to injury in America’s least affordable markets: in October 2013, for instance, 25% or less
of the homes listed for sale in San Francisco, Orange County, Los Angeles, and New York were affordable
to middle class households. Nonetheless, buying will remain cheaper than renting. As of September
2013, buying was 35% cheaper than renting nationally, and buying beat renting in all of the 100 largest
metros. However, prices and mortgage rates might rise enough to tip the math in favor of renting in a
couple of housing markets—starting with San Jose.
2. The Home-Buying Process Gets Less Frenzied.
Home buyers in 2014 might kick themselves for not buying in 2013 or 2012, when mortgage rates and
prices were lower, but they’ll take some comfort in the fact that the process won’t be as frenzied. There
will be more inventory on the market next year, partly due to new construction, but primarily because
higher prices will encourage more homeowners to sell—including those who are no longer underwater.
Also, buyers looking for a home for themselves will face less competition from investors who are scaling
back their home purchases (see #3, below). Finally, mortgages should be easier to get because higher
rates have slashed refinancing activity and pushed some banks to ramp up their purchase lending.
Moreover, the new mortgage rules coming into effect in 2014 will give banks better clarity about the
legal and financial risks they face with different types of mortgages, hopefully making them more willing
to lend. All in all, more inventory, less competition from investors, and more mortgage credit should all
make the buying process less frenzied than in 2013—for those who can afford to buy.
3. Repeat Buyers Take Center Stage.
2013 was the year of the investor, but 2014 will be the year of the repeat home buyer. Investors buy less
as prices rise: higher prices mean that the return on investment falls, and there’s less room for future
price appreciation. Who will fill the gap? Not first-time buyers: saving for a down payment and having
a stable job remain significant burdens, and declining affordability is also a big hurdle for first-timers.
Who’s left? Repeat buyers: they’re less discouraged by rising prices than either investors or first-time
buyers because the home they already own has also risen in value. Also, the down payment is less of a
challenge for repeat buyers if they have equity in their current home.
4. How Much Prices Slow Matters Less Than Why And Where.
Prices won’t rise as much in 2014 as in 2013. The latest Trulia Price Monitor showed us that asking home
prices rose year-over-year 12.1% nationally and more than 20% in 10 of the 100 largest metros. But it
also revealed that these price gains are already slowing sharply in the hottest metros. How much prices
slow matters less than why. If prices are slowing for the right reasons, great: growing inventory, fading
investor activity, and rising mortgage rates are all natural price-slowing changes to expect at this stage of
the recovery. But prices could slow for unhealthy reasons, too: if we have another government shutdown
or more debt-ceiling brinksmanship, a drop in consumer confidence could hurt housing demand and
home prices. Where prices change matters, too. Slowing prices are welcome news in overvalued or
unaffordable markets, but markets where prices are significantly undervalued and borrowers are still
underwater would be better off with a year or two of unsustainably fast price gains.
5. Rental Action Swings Back Toward Urban Apartments.
Throughout the recession and recovery, investors bought homes and rented them out, sometimes to people who lost another or the same home to foreclosure. In fact, the number of rented single-family homes leapt by 32% during this period. Going into 2014, though, investors are buying fewer single-family homes; loosening credit standards might allow more single-family renters to become
owners again; and fewer owners are losing homes to foreclosures to begin with – all of which mean that
the single-family rental market should cool. At the same time, multifamily accounts for an unusually high
share of new construction, which means more urban apartment rentals should come onto the market
in 2014. Urban apartments will be the first stop for many of the young adults who find jobs and move
out of their parents’ homes. In short, 2014 should mean more supply and demand for urban apartment
rentals, but slowing supply and demand for single-family rentals. Ironically, economic recovery means
that the overall homeownership rate will probably decline, as some young adults form their own
households as renters. Still, the shift in rental activity from suburban single-family to urban apartments
would be yet another sign of housing recovery.
Top 10 Markets to Watch
What other reasons will cause 2014 be different? New markets will take the spotlight. Our top 10 markets to watch entering 2014 with strong fundamentals, including recent job growth and longer-term economic success, as well as recent construction activity typical of vibrant markets. They are, in alphabetical order:
- Bethesda–Rockville–Frederick, MD
- Charlotte, NC
- Denver, CO
- Fort Worth, TX
- Nashville, TN
- Oklahoma City, OK
- Raleigh, NC
- Salt Lake City, UT
- Seattle, WA
- Tulsa, OK
Why are so many of the high-profile markets of 2013 missing from our list? We ruled out markets that
were more than a little overvalued according to our latest Bubble Watch, which eliminated most metros
in Texas and coastal California. We also struck markets with a large foreclosure inventory (thanks for the
data, RealtyTrac), like most of Florida. Our 10 markets to watch, therefore, should have strong activity in
2014 with few headwinds.
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