Realtor.com Forecast: Homebuying Costs Aren’t Coming Down in 2023

Written by Posted On Wednesday, 30 November 2022 01:49

Buyers will face home price increases nationally (+5.4%) and in all of the 100 largest markets in 2023, but those who can afford to persist will find more inventory than last year (+22.8%)

Amid higher mortgage rates and budgets squeezed by inflation, homebuyers looking for affordability in 2023 will find that prices aren’t coming down, according to the Realtor.com® 2023 Housing Forecast released today. Instead, with the housing market beginning a gradual adjustment that could last through 2025, what next year will offer buyers is less competition for a growing number of for-sale homes. 

Overall in 2023, Realtor.com® forecasts that buyers and sellers can expect: 

  • Average mortgage rates of 7.4%, with early 2023 hikes followed by a slight retreat to 7.1% by year-end.
  • Home sales prices won’t come down, but growth will moderate to a single-digit yearly pace (+5.4%) for the first time since 2020. 
  • Rents (+6.3% year-over-year) will outpace home prices and likely hit new highs, further adding to budget pressures – especially for first-time buyers.
  • An increase in existing homes for sale (+22.8% year-over-year), as the inventory refresh that began last summer accelerates.
  • Home sales will decline 14.1% year-over-year to 4.53 million, the lowest level since 2012 (see table below). 

“Compared to the wild ride of the past two years, 2023 will be a slower-paced housing market, which means drastic shifts like price declines may not happen as quickly as some have anticipated. It will be a challenging year for both buyers and sellers, but an important one in setting the stage for home sales to return to a sustainable pace over the next two to three years,” said Danielle Hale, Chief Economist for Realtor.com®. “With mortgage rates continuing to climb as the Fed navigates the economy to a soft-ish landing, higher costs will lead to fewer closings, but that doesn’t mean homebuying will stop entirely in 2023. Americans who are determined to make a move will find that staying up-to-date on the market, flexibility, creativity and a healthy dose of patience will go a long way toward success in the year ahead.”

Key 2023 housing trends and wildcards 

  • A second wind in the second half. Although home sales are expected to slow overall in 2023, Realtor.com®’s forecast points to the possibility of a second wind in buying activity in the second half of the year. With mortgage rate hikes projected to continue through March, the Spring season will likely be less busy than in a typical year as buyers and sellers recalibrate their expectations around smaller budgets. This break could provide space for demand to renew as mortgage rates dip later in the year, when home shoppers will also have more options and bargaining power
  • A trifecta of budget barriers awaits buyers. In 2023, incomes are expected to grow (+3.9%), but not enough to offset higher mortgage rates (7.4%) and home prices (+5.4%), creating a trifecta of budget barriers. The typical monthly mortgage payment will be $2,430, 28% higher than in 2022, which will likely price many home shoppers out of the market. This will especially be a concern for first-time buyers. As rents will likely reach new highs, it will leave less room for saving towards a down payment. At the same time, some home shoppers may consider exploring new financial options like adjustable rate mortgages (ARMs), a trend that has already begun to take shape in 2022.
  • It isn’t ‘08. During the mid-2000s housing boom, home sales were elevated for more than five years, and it took another five years for home sales to recover from the economic aftermath. Comparatively, mortgage rate hikes have brought a quicker but less dramatic end to the recent frenzy, during which buyers have been better qualified than in ‘08. Moving forward, home price growth will slow and may even decline periodically as prices largely stabilize over the next two-to-three years. The homeownership rate is predicted to hold in 2023. 
  • Some homeowners could still make bank. In 2023, the typical homeowner is projected to gain $25,650 in equity as prices keep rising. With real estate wealth already much higher than pre-COVID, these trends offer a positive reality check for sellers who have been increasingly pessimistic about entering the market as listing prices have pulled back from last year’s peak. While bidding wars won’t be the norm in 2023, sellers who have owned their home for a longer period of time are still likely to make a profit. And those living in relatively affordable areas may still command offers above asking, driven by continued home shopper interest in relocating to lower-priced markets. 
  • 2023 puts the “wild” in wildcards: Political and economic events can always shake up the housing outlook, as was the case with major financial shifts in 2022. Along with factors including supply chain disruptions and the conflict in Ukraine, markets have largely begun to adjust for these changes, such as with the Fed’s efforts to combat inflation with rate hikes. As such, forecasted 2023 housing trends don’t anticipate a major shakeup like a recession, but it’s still a possibility. Buyers and sellers should keep an eye out for risk signs like a substantial weakening in the jobs market, beyond the mild uptick in unemployment that is projected, as businesses are potentially disrupted by shifting geopolitical, financial and economic conditions. Although a potential recession may lead to lower mortgage rates, ultimately buyers’ purchasing power would suffer. And for sellers, this would likely mean less demand and potential price drops.

“Of the many factors that are expected to affect the housing market in 2023, affordability tops the list of issues most likely to make or break buyers’ plans. Still, our forecast does offer promise for home shoppers who are well-prepared. Tools like Realtor.com®’s Buying Power can help you understand how various rate changes and options impact your budget, and seamlessly integrate into the home search experience to help you stay on track financially,” Hale added. 

2023 Forecasted Housing Metrics & Historical Data – National

Metric (Full-Year Avg.)

2023 Realtor.com® Forecast

2022 Realtor.com® Expectations

2021 Historical Data

2013-2019 Historical Average

Mortgage Rates

7.4% (avg.);
7.1% (year-end)       

5.5% (avg.);
7.5% (year-end)

Avg. 3.0%

Avg. 4.0%

Existing Home Median Sales Price 

+5.4% year-over-year

+10.2% year-over-year

+17.0% year-over-year

+6.4% year-over-year

Existing Home Sales

-14.1% year-over-year
(to 4.53 million)

-13.8% year-over-year (to 5.28 million)

8.5% year-over-year (to 6.12 million)

2.0% year-over-year (to 5.27 million)

Existing Home For-Sale Inventory

+22.8% year-over-year

+4.0% year-over-year

-19.4% year-over-year

-3.5% year-over-year

Single-Family Housing Starts

-5.4% year-over-year

-9.6% year-over-year

1.1 million

0.8 million

Homeownership Rate

65.7% of U.S. households

65.8% of U.S. households

65.5% of U.S. households

64.2% of U.S. households

Rental Price

+6.3% year-over-year

+7.7% year-over-year

+10.0% year-over-year

+5.0% year-over-year

2023 Forecasted Housing Metrics – 100 Largest U.S. Metros (in alphabetical order)

Metro

Forecasted 2023 Sales

Change (% Y/Y)

Forecasted 2023 Price

Change (% Y/Y)

Akron, Ohio

-0.8%

3.8%

Albany-Schenectady-Troy, N.Y.

3.0%

4.7%

Albuquerque, N.M.

-3.0%

5.3%

Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, Pa.-N.J.

1.9%

4.7%

Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, Ga.

-0.3%

4.7%

Augusta-Richmond County, Ga.-S.C.

6.2%

5.7%

Austin-Round Rock, Texas

-6.6%

3.0%

Bakersfield, Calif.

-7.5%

2.0%

Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, Md.

4.9%

5.5%

Baton Rouge, La.

-5.1%

7.1%

Birmingham-Hoover, Ala.

-0.4%

7.3%

Boise City, Idaho

-10.9%

8.7%

Boston-Cambridge-Newton, Mass.-N.H.

-0.6%

9.5%

Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, Conn.

-6.5%

5.9%

Buffalo-Cheektowaga-Niagara Falls, N.Y.

6.3%

6.0%

Cape Coral-Fort Myers, Fla.

-5.9%

-1.9%

Charleston-North Charleston, S.C.

-1.6%

4.6%

Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, N.C.-S.C.

-0.3%

5.5%

Chattanooga, Tenn.-Ga.

2.9%

8.2%

Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, Ill.-Ind.-Wis.

-2.1%

3.1%

Cincinnati, Ohio-Ky.-Ind.

3.0%

6.1%

Cleveland-Elyria, Ohio

2.7%

4.3%

Colorado Springs, Colo.

-3.5%

7.0%

Columbia, S.C.

7.7%

3.6%

Columbus, Ohio

4.6%

5.0%

Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, Texas

3.1%

2.2%

Dayton, Ohio

2.8%

5.6%

Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach, Fla.

-7.9%

4.8%

Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, Colo.

-1.9%

4.2%

Des Moines-West Des Moines, Iowa

4.1%

6.3%

Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, Mich

0.7%

6.2%

Durham-Chapel Hill, N.C.

0.7%

5.9%

El Paso, Texas

8.9%

5.4%

Fresno, Calif.

-13.7%

2.2%

Grand Rapids-Wyoming, Mich

1.6%

10.0%

Greensboro-High Point, N.C.

2.2%

6.2%

Greenville-Anderson-Mauldin, S.C.

0.4%

4.9%

Harrisburg-Carlisle, Pa.

4.7%

3.0%

Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, Conn.

6.5%

8.5%

Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, Texas

2.9%

4.5%

Indianapolis-Carmel-Anderson, Ind.

-1.0%

7.8%

Jacksonville, Fla.

-3.0%

4.6%

Kansas City, Mo.-Kan.

1.9%

7.2%

Knoxville, Tenn.

-1.0%

7.1%

Lakeland-Winter Haven, Fla.

-5.0%

1.6%

Lansing-East Lansing, Mich.

3.1%

4.4%

Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, Nev.

-10.9%

2.3%

Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, Ark.

6.2%

4.6%

Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, Calif.

-15.8%

3.2%

Louisville/Jefferson County, Ky.-Ind.

5.2%

8.4%

Madison, Wis.

-5.0%

9.0%

McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, Texas

-0.5%

4.8%

Memphis, Tenn.-Miss.-Ark.

2.5%

6.9%

Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, Fla.

-2.0%

3.4%

Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis, Wis.

0.4%

7.7%

Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, Minn.-Wis.

-0.8%

5.6%

Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, Tenn.

-3.4%

5.0%

New Haven-Milford, Conn.

0.0%

3.5%

New Orleans-Metairie, La.

-0.8%

6.3%

New York-Newark-Jersey City, N.Y.-N.J.-Pa.

1.8%

5.0%

North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton, Fla.

-28.7%

3.2%

Ogden-Clearfield, Utah

-11.0%

6.4%

Oklahoma City, Okla.

4.2%

2.6%

Omaha-Council Bluffs, Neb.-Iowa

4.7%

4.8%

Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, Fla.

-8.5%

2.9%

Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, Calif.

-29.1%

1.7%

Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, Fla.

-18.3%

2.8%

Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, Pa.-N.J.-Del.-Md.

0.6%

5.7%

Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, Ariz.

-18.4%

2.6%

Pittsburgh, Pa.

4.2%

5.4%

Portland-South Portland, Maine

-4.6%

10.3%

Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, Ore.-Wash.

-10.7%

3.9%

Providence-Warwick, R.I.-Mass.

-7.0%

9.8%

Raleigh, N.C.

-7.3%

5.4%

Richmond, Va.

0.1%

4.8%

Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, Calif.

-7.2%

1.5%

Rochester, N.Y.

1.3%

5.3%

Sacramento--Roseville--Arden-Arcade, Calif.

-12.1%

3.7%

St. Louis, Mo.-Ill.

-0.4%

4.6%

Salt Lake City, Utah

-7.6%

5.8%

San Antonio-New Braunfels, Texas

2.5%

4.6%

San Diego-Carlsbad, Calif.

-27.3%

3.6%

San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, Calif.

-13.3%

3.3%

San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, Calif.

-28.8%

2.7%

Scranton--Wilkes-Barre--Hazleton, Pa.

0.0%

5.8%

Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, Wash.

-10.3%

6.8%

Spokane-Spokane Valley, Wash.

-6.1%

9.6%

Springfield, Mass.

0.7%

8.9%

Stockton-Lodi, Calif.

-8.6%

6.4%

Syracuse, N.Y.

0.9%

6.1%

Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, Fla.

-15.6%

3.9%

Toledo, Ohio

4.2%

6.7%

Tucson, Ariz.

-14.7%

4.5%

Tulsa, Okla.

1.8%

4.6%

Urban Honolulu, Hawaii

-6.6%

1.9%

Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, Va.-N.C.

3.9%

5.1%

Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-Va.-Md.-W. Va.

-3.5%

5.0%

Wichita, Kan.

-4.3%

7.0%

Winston-Salem, N.C.

2.4%

5.8%

Worcester, Mass.-Conn.

2.5%

10.6%

Methodology 

Realtor.com®’s model-based forecast uses data on the housing market and overall economy to estimate values for these variables in the year ahead.  

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