Home prices will likely climb 10
percent in 2013 and 8 percent in 2014, according to Barclays analyst
Stephen Kim, who recently upgraded his view of the housing market from
neutral to positive.
Kim told The Wall Street Journal recently that low mortgage rates are
helping to make buying more affordable than renting in many markets.
About “18 months ago, the industry was nothing much to look at:
dilapidated foreclosures were flooding the market, home equity had
suffered the worst retrenchment in a generation, and housing starts and
sentiment were far below historic troughs levels,” Kim notes. “But after
stabilizing in 2012, both new and existing home prices are now
accelerating much more rapidly than in the 1990s cycle.”
Source: “The Housing Market: Not Your Analyst’s Oldsmobile?” The Wall Street Journal (April 23, 2013)