US home values set to moderate until 2018, according to latest expert survey

The pace of residential property price growth in the United States is set to slow this year and continue doing so into 2018, according to real estate experts.

The result of the latest quarterly Zillow Home Price Expectations Survey, which takes into account the views of more than 100 expert panellists, suggests that home values will end 2014 up an average of 4.6% from 2013, to a median value of $177,895.

They also expect values to exceed their 2007 peak levels by the end of 2017, roughly a decade after the housing bust and ensuing recession began.

The survey also reveals that 85% of the experts expect the median age of first time home buyers to rise to 32 or higher in next 10 years.

On average, the panellists expect interest rates on a 30 year, fixed rate mortgage to reach approximately 5.3% by the middle of 2016 and this could slow down the market as first time buyers put off making a purchase.

Indeed, the report says that overall the national home ownership rate fell in the second quarter, and a majority of experts said they expect it to fall further in coming years as the Millennial generation delays home purchases and the age of typical first time buyers continues to rise.

In 2013, the typical first buyer was 31 years old, according to the National Association of Realtors and the survey asked panellists for their expectations regarding the median first time buyer age over the next decade.

http://www.propertywire.com/news/north-america/us-real-estate-outlook-201408049427.html