Some of the housing news being kicked around recently is astounding: Home prices soaring by 20 percent or more over the past 12 months? Multiple offers? Bidding wars? All of the great news has some wondering, is another housing bubble brewing?
Experts think not. According to the business forecast aficionados at Kiplinger, there are huge differences between what we see happening today in even the hottest of real estate markets and the tulipmania of last decade. The extreme heat in today’s market is a short-term phenomenon, born of a temporary imbalance between supply and demand. Come 2014, if not sooner, the pace of price hikes will ease, as builders rush in to beef up supplies of new homes, more homeowners – reluctant to sell at a loss –are no longer underwater on their mortgages, and additional properties come through the foreclosure process.
The most recent Kiplinger Letter takes a look at the U.S. housing market, forecasts price hikes for this year and next, and explains why there’s little danger in fast-rising home prices in some parts of the country.
