For the first time in more than 2 years, house prices nationally may be cooling off, with parts of the Midwest and Plains states forecast to see the slowest growth in 2023, followed by formerly hot spots in Arizona and Colorado.
The Seattle-based Zillow Group is estimating that house prices between now and next summer will increase by only 2.4%. That’s a significantly smaller figure than what the tech real estate company predicted earlier this summer when it charted growth at 7.8%.
The new Zillow numbers come as homes sales in general have dropped nationally, with new home sales down by 17.4% last month, and existing home sales off by 20.2%.
Home price declines of between 1% and 4% are being seen in such disparate locations as Fargo, North Dakota, with a 1.5% drop, and Charleston, West Virginia, off by 4%.
Although Texas has long been at the forefront of increased home prices, Laredo is charted for a 1.9% drop, and Odessa, seeing a decline of 3.3%.
The booming Tucson market, on the other hand, is expected to see a 5.3% price increase, with the Lake Havasu City and Kingman market at an even higher 6.8%.
New Mexico price increases are ranging between 3.5% in Las Cruces and Farmington at 4.8%. Albuquerque is charted for a 4.3% hike.
Price hikes are charted lower for the booming Denver metro market at 1.2% and Greeley at 1.9%. But representing the increasing popularity of the southern and western portions of the Centennial State, Pueblo is charted for a 6.3% jump, with Grand Junction up by 4.2%.
Other analysts have also forecast declines in real estate prices heading into 2023, although Zillow has for the most part remained bullish. Notes the publication Fortune: “If Zillow’s 2.4% uptick comes to fruition, it would mark the lowest year-over-year home price growth jump since 2012.”
Last week the National Association of Realtors noted a drop of $10,000 in average home prices in July, with an overall 10.8% decline. The average home price in July, nonetheless, still stood at just under $404,000.
By Garry Boulard
