The “house” party is on! Did you get the invitation?

After the housing market has seen the worst downturn since the great depression, we’ve finally reached bottom. And with USA Today declaring that “Home sales and home building are forecast to rise this year” and “November’s existing home sales  hitting their highest mark in 10 months” all signs point to a very strong year for Philadelphia and the housing market in general. Here’s a list of a few of my predictions for the Philadelphia real estate market, as well as some predictions from USA Today:

• (From USA Today) Existing home sales will rise 12% this year after a 2% increase last year, and new home sales, coming off a horrid year, will jump 74% this year.
• (USA Today) Single-family housing starts will rise 37% this year, Moody’s predicts, after falling 9% last year.
• City neighborhoods will continue to expand their boundaries.
• Prices will rise.
• Interest rates will rise.

Naturally home prices and interest rates will rise as we see an increase in home sales. Which means that those amazing real estate deals we’re now seeing on the market will quickly vanish. Expanding boundaries of city neighborhoods (specifically in Philadelphia) isn’t anything new. As up and coming areas like Northern Liberties and Graduate Hospital grow in popularity, it’s only natural that developers and homeowners in Philadelphia will venture a few blocks away, expanding that neighborhood’s traditional boundaries. I expect in 2012 for NoLibs to incorporate the area beyond 6th and G-Ho to start overtaking streets in Point Breeze.

So what does all this ultimately mean? Well in terms of real estate, 2012 is going to be gangbusters! Especially compared to what we’ve seen for most of the past decade. My final prediction for this new year?  The real estate crash will officially end and those on the fence about buying will be left in the dust! If you’ve been considering buying a home for a while now and want to take advantage of low prices and interest rates, now is the time to buy! Almost all experts agree, new home prices and interest rates will rise very soon. The ship is sailing, folks!

Have some questions about Philadelphia or Pennsylvania real estate? Email me: mickey@themickeygroup.com

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USA Today Article: http://tucsoncitizen.com/usa-today-news/2012/01/15/housing-outlook-is-more-upbeat/