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A surprising twist toward the end of 2016 with the election of real estate magnate Donald Trump as president is likely to presage some dramatic changes in 2017 for the housing industry, which saw healthy increases ion values this year, thanks to factors including low interest rates, lower gas prices, stronger wage growth and millennials getting off the fence and entering the market. Still, as demonstrated by the Nov. 8 presidential election, anything can happen. Here are five things to watch for in real estate in 2017 — don’t get blindsided: Attack of the drones     Commercial use of

By now everyone on the planet knows that the majority of polls were wrong. Dead wrong! Donald Trump was elected the 45th U.S. president in a stunning upset. And his presidency is expected to have a profound impact on the nation and world. Sure, everyone right now is obsessing over what kind of impact the new president-elect will have on immigration, taxes, international relations, and trade policies. But we have a more specific query: What will the real estate mogul turned most powerful man in the world mean for the future of residential housing? (We are realtor.com® after all.) In the short term, probably not all that much. However,

Think gore-dripping zombies and shrieking ghosts are scary? Well, here at realtor.com®, it’s the terrifyingly low levels of homes available for sale that keep us up at night … and that’s exactly what we’re seeing in an early look at our site’s data for October. Spooky! Despite prices that are so high they could make your head spin like a possessed child, demand from would-be buyers remains as frenzied as 10-year-olds clamoring for fun-size Snickers on Oct. 31. OK, enough with the Halloween metaphors already. We’re exhausted! Just know this: Homes for sale in October are actually moving off the market 2% more

The trials that plagued the California housing market in 2016 aren’t expected to get too much better in 2017 as the real estate market is projected to face another year of supply shortages and affordability constraints, according to the “2017 California Housing Market Forecast” released by the California Association of Realtors. CAR predicted that 2016 would face a shortage of available inventory and continued high costs that would limit the state’s improvement, a predication that ultimately came true according to the state’s real estate agents. Affordability is only projected to get worse, which is currently already California real estate agents’ No. 1 concern for

The California Association of Realtors predicts 2017 is going to be a good year for the state’s inland markets as those on the coast get less and less affordable. The trade group’s 2017 Housing Market Forecast, released Thursday, anticipates that the number of homes sold statewide will rise slightly between this year and next. But economists believe soaring prices in Los Angeles, San Diego and San Francisco could slow sales there, while the relatively affordable Inland Empire and Central Valley will see more activity. “Job creation, low interest rates, the availability of low-down-payment mortgages… all make it a little more

Key Takeaways Single-family rental growth has slowed in the high-end tier as of May, while the lower end of the market has remained strong throughout the nation, at 5.3 percent annual growth. California was home to the largest pool of foreclosures along with Florida, but California’s foreclosed inventory sat at only 0.4 percent. The California Home Price Index increased 6 percent annually in June, and the forecast shows year-over-year prices are expected to climb by 9.6 percent in 12 months. CoreLogic’s Market Pulse for August 2016 reports on the national market and local trends, including a new inside look at the rental

Maybe I’m cranky. And it is a heated political season. But an economic reality check is needed. There’s a huge disconnect between the noteworthy upbeat economic data vs. dour sentiment so often heard around the region. I’m not rooting for a recession, but here are six things we could learn from another downturn. Well, unless we want to do the hard work and to go the history books and learn – without living through another reversal for the business climate. 1. GIVE PERSPECTIVE I can see a time – maybe in midrecession 2018 or 2019 – when somebody will reminisce

Stacey Smith and her husband looked at about three dozen homes in the San Francisco Bay area and lost a bidding war before finally purchasing a four-bedroom house in June for $1.5 million — 40 percent more than the asking price. Their search wasn’t in Silicon Valley or San Francisco. It was just across the bay in Oakland, which has supplanted its pricier and better-known neighbors to become the region’s most heated real estate market. “Something we had to wrap our head around really quickly was the fact that we were automatically going to bid at least 30 percent over

According to data released by RealtyTrac, 7 Bay Area Zip Codes rise to the top in terms of investment opportunities. The Bay Area’s most promising, up-and-coming neighborhoods are in the East Bay, according to an analysis by RealtyTrac. That’s not a coincidence, said Daren Blomquist, senior vice president at real estate research firm RealtyTrac. The East Bay still has neighborhoods that are on the mend but often overlooked by real estate investors and home buyers. The East Bay’s strong showing comes as little surprise as that part of the Bay Area finds itself increasingly in the national limelight. The New York Times told

In its July monthly survey of real estate agents from around the US – and regional analysis from 40 markets – shows that buyers are generally becoming tepid if not cautious amid historically low interest rates. After a June pull-back in home buyer traffic, July failed to provide a bounce as those actively looking to purchase a house dropped. There are numerous concerns – home prices are too high, for instance – but the real concern for some agents is how quickly demand disappeared. Regionally, the report shows a mixed bag. The Pacific Northwest slowed, coming in-line with national averages, while certain regions inside