Naturally, home prices are a top topic for anyone buying or selling a home in the coming year. And, with mortgage rates expected to continue trending upward, they are becoming an even more important component of the affordability equation. So what’s the forecast for 2019? Well, there’s good news and bad. For starters, CoreLogic’s most recent Home Price Index says prices are actually expected to have fallen from November to December. But, year-over-year numbers show they’ve risen by 5.1 percent from 2017. That means, values are moderating in the near term but still increasing overall. Further, they expect that they’ll continue to head upward. That’s the bad news. The good news is that a rising number of available homes for sale is expected to slow the rate of increase. In fact, CoreLogic expects home prices this year to come in 4.8 percent higher than the year before. And while the improvement may seem slight, the fact that price increases are beginning to slow is good news for interested home buyers this year. More here.
