Bargain-hunters looking for falling home prices might be out of luck next year: a housing price drop is unlikely in 2020, said analysts in response to October housing price data released today.
Home prices ticked up this fall after a year-and-a-half of slowing. Thanks to strengthening home appreciation, some experts predict that home prices will rise next year.
“If people were waiting to see if house prices would actually decline, as they did in [the Great Recession] ... that’s probably not going to happen, at least given the current economic backdrop,” Craig Lazerra, managing director and global head of index investment strategy at S&P Dow Jones Indices, told Yahoo Finance.
Home prices rose 3.3% in October year-over-year, slightly up from a 3.2% year-over-year hike in September, according to the S&P Corelogic Case-Shiller index. The stable price gains come after a year and a half of decelerating price increases, a gloomy trend for homeowners hoping to see increased value on their houses.
“A slight re-strengthening in home price growth is not a surprise. Demand remains strong and supply is lacking,” said Lawrence Yun, chief economist at the National Association of Realtors (NAR).
Low unemployment and low interest rates will maintain strong demand for the housing market in 2020, added Lazerra.
“Those things are both important in people’s decisions about whether they can afford a house and how big a house they can afford,” said Lazerra.
The strongest price gains came from Phoenix, Tampa and Charlotte, with year-over-year price increases of 5.8%, 4.9% and 4.8% respectively.
“Faster price appreciation in warmer, Southern states reflect the ongoing migratory trend of people moving out of expensive regions of the country to more affordable parts. Southern cities should once again do better than most other markets,” said Yun.
Sarah Paynter is a reporter at Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter @sarahapaynter
Read the latest financial and business news from Yahoo Finance
Follow Yahoo Finance on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Flipboard, SmartNews, LinkedIn, YouTube, and reddit.
More from Sarah:
Here are the best and worst states to refinance
What to expect from the housing market in 2020
This new startup claims it will help you buy a home without a mortgage