2024 Housing Market Forecast

The new year is right around the corner, and you might be wondering if 2024 will be the right time to buy or sell a home. If you want to make the most informed decision possible, it’s important to know what the experts have to say about what’s ahead for the housing market. Spoiler alert: the projections may be better than you think.

Experts Forecast Ongoing Home Price Appreciation

Take a look at the latest home price forecasts from Fannie Mae, the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA), and the National Association of Realtors (NAR):

As you can see in the orange bars on the left, on average, experts forecast prices will end this year up about 2.8% overall, and increase by another 1.5% by the end of 2024. That’s big news, considering so many people thought prices would crash this year. The truth is, prices didn’t come tumbling way down in 2023, and that’s because there just weren’t enough homes for sale compared to the number of people who wanted or needed to buy them, and that inventory crunch is still very real.

Projections Show Sales Should Increase Slightly Next Year

While 2023 hasn’t seen a lot of home sales relative to more normal years in the housing market, experts are forecasting a bit more activity next year. Here’s what those same three organizations project for the rest of this year, and in 2024 (see graph below):

What’s The Outlook for Interest Rates?
As Realtor.com forecasts a potential decrease in mortgage rates, with expectations of reaching 6.8% next year before a projected decline to approximately 6.5% by the end of 2024, the housing market may experience a surge in demand. The anticipation of lower mortgage rates could motivate prospective homebuyers to expedite their purchasing decisions. This sense of urgency may contribute to a heightened demand for housing, as individuals who have been on the sidelines re-enter the housing market in 2024.

Des Moines Metro Stats

The local real estate market appears to be holding steady as the number of active listings experienced a marginal increase in October, with 3,309 homes on the market reflecting a 2.4% uptick from the 3,231 homes available in September. Year-over-year, this trend is more pronounced, indicating a  10.7% increase in active listings compared to the same period last year. Although October’s median sale price witnessed a slight decline of 5.3% from September, settling at $274,745, it still demonstrates a notable 4.7% rise from October 2022. This combination of growing inventory and resilient price performance suggests a balanced market, where supply and demand dynamics are aligning to maintain a more stable market.