Will home prices be flat next year?
NEW YORK -- Sept. 11, 2006 -- Home prices will gain an average 0.43 percent next year in the closely watched index of house prices compiled by the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight (OFHEO), say economists in a survey.
Five of 48 economists surveyed forecast gains of 5 percent or more, but 25 of them expect either no increase next year or a decline.
For this year, the economists expect an average 3.5 percent rise in prices, compared with gains of 13 percent in 2005 and 12 percent in 2004.
The OFHEO numbers are closely watched because they track the prices of the same houses over time, and aren't affected by the higher prices paid for better or bigger homes.
David Wyss, chief economist at Standard & Poor's Corp., says he expects price declines in areas that are overvalued, such as Florida, California and the Northeast, or those that are especially susceptible to economic weakness, such as the Great Lakes region.
Source: The Wall Street Journal, by Phil Izzo (09/08/2006)
Five of 48 economists surveyed forecast gains of 5 percent or more, but 25 of them expect either no increase next year or a decline.
For this year, the economists expect an average 3.5 percent rise in prices, compared with gains of 13 percent in 2005 and 12 percent in 2004.
The OFHEO numbers are closely watched because they track the prices of the same houses over time, and aren't affected by the higher prices paid for better or bigger homes.
David Wyss, chief economist at Standard & Poor's Corp., says he expects price declines in areas that are overvalued, such as Florida, California and the Northeast, or those that are especially susceptible to economic weakness, such as the Great Lakes region.
Source: The Wall Street Journal, by Phil Izzo (09/08/2006)
posted by Dan Forbes at
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