California Home Prices to Slow in 2017, Lowest Appreciation in 6 Years

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According to the California Association of Realtors' 2017 California Housing Market Forecast, following a dip in home sales in 2016, California's housing market will post a nominal increase in 2017, as supply shortages and affordability constraints hamper market activity.
 
The C.A.R. forecast sees a modest increase in existing home sales of 1.4 percent next year to reach 413,000 units, up slightly from the projected 2016 sales figure of 407,300 homes sold.  Sales in 2016 also will be virtually flat at 407,300 existing, single-family home sales, compared with the 408,800 pace of homes sold in 2015.
 
"Next year, California's housing market will be driven by tight housing supplies and the lowest housing affordability in six years," said C.A.R. President Pat "Ziggy" Zicarelli. "The market will experience regional differences, with more affordable areas, such as the Inland Empire and Central Valley, outperforming the urban coastal centers, where high home prices and a limited availability of homes on the market will hamper sales. As a result, the Southern California and Central Valley regions will see moderate sales increases, while the San Francisco Bay Area will experience a decline as home buyers migrate to peripheral cities with more affordable options."
 
C.A.R.'s forecast projects growth in the U.S. Gross Domestic Product of 2.2 percent in 2017, after a projected gain of 1.5percent in 2016. With California's nonfarm job growth at 1.6 percent, down from a projected 2.3 percent in 2016, the state's unemployment rate will reach 5.3 percent in 2017, compared with 5.5 percent in 2016 and 6.2 percent in 2015.
 
The average for 30-year, fixed mortgage interest rates will rise only slightly to 4.0 percent in 2017, up from 3.6 percent in 2016, but will still remain at historically low levels.
 
The California median home price is forecast to increase 4.3 percent to $525,600 in 2017, following a projected 6.2 percent increase in 2016 to $503,900, representing the slowest rate of price appreciation in six years.

"With the California economy continuing to outperform the nation, the demand for housing will remain robust even with supply and affordability constraints still very much in evidence. The net result will be California's housing market posting a modest increase in 2017," said C.A.R. Vice President and Chief Economist Leslie Appleton-Young. "The underlying fundamentals continue to support overall home sales growth, but headwinds, such as global economic uncertainty and deteriorating housing affordability, will temper stronger sales activity."