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The data from real estate website realtor.com forecasts that the Fresno housing market will see a home price appreciation of 3.7 percent and sales boost of 5.8 percent next year, ranking it at No. 43 on the list.
The Phoenix, Arizona region ranked No. 1 on the list with prices rising 5.9 percent and sales jumping 7.2 percent. Los Angeles came in at No. 2 and Sacramento at No. 4.
Overall, realtor.com projects the national real estate market to slow next year compared to the last two years. Home prices are anticipated to increase 3.9 percent and existing home sales are forecasted to increase 1.9 percent to 5.46 million homes. Interest rates are expected to reach 4.5 percent due to higher expectations for inflationary pressure in the year ahead.
“We don’t expect the outcome of the election to have a direct impact on the health of the housing market or economy as we close out 2016. However, the 40 basis points increase in rates in the days following the election has caused us to increase our interest rate prediction for next year,” said Jonathan Smoke, chief economist for realtor.com. “With more than 95 percent of first-time home buyers dependent on financing their home purchase, and a majority of first-time buyers reporting one or more financial challenges, the uptick we’ve already seen may price some first-timers out of the market.”