#USA #Santa Clara #Housing Market #Realtor.com #Trump administration

Realtor.com® 2025 Housing Forecast: Will Economic Trends Shape the Market?

As we head into 2025, Realtor.com® has unveiled its housing market predictions, shedding light on potential changes influenced by broader economic factors rather than solely federal policies. This forecast indicates an expected increase in home sales prices by 3.7% and a slight adjustment in mortgage rates averaging around 6.3% for the year.

Economic Context

Danielle Hale, Chief Economist at Realtor.com®, emphasizes that the intricacies of the housing market will be primarily influenced by economic conditions rather than any immediate changes from the incoming Trump administration. While campaign promises hint at potential regulatory reforms, the realization of these changes often encounters bureaucratic hurdles, which could modulate their impact on the housing landscape.

One of the prominent points in this forecast is the projected rise in single-family home inventory. An increase of 13.8% in new home starts and an 11.7% uptick in existing home inventory are expected, heralding what could be the first balanced market in nearly a decade.

Forecast Highlights for 2025

For 2025, we can anticipate:

• - Mortgage Rates: Expected average of 6.3%, potentially easing to 6.2% by year-end.
• - Home Prices: A continuous uptrend, projected to rise by 3.7%.
• - Rents: Expected to remain stable with a negligible decrease of 0.1%.
• - Sales Volume: An anticipated increase of 1.5% in home sales year-over-year, reaching approximately 4.07 million transactions.
• - Months' Supply Indicator: Increasing from 3.7 months in 2024 to 4.1 months in 2025, signifying a shift towards a more balanced market.

The Potential Impact of Trump’s Policies

While the forecast presents an overall stable market, it also raises questions about the implications of the Trump administration's policies. Should Trump pursue his proposals to alleviate housing shortages, such as making federal lands available for development and revising regulations largely blamed for escalating home building costs, we could see a notable shift in supply dynamics.

However, the implementation of significant policy changes would require time and the collaboration of various government branches, making the timeline for such impacts uncertain. Consequently, the effects of the so-called