All about the Real Estate Industry
Real estate is a term that is used when people are talking about land and any development done on that particular piece of land like buildings or crops. Real estate in itself is also an industry where the main commodity of sale is property.
Real estate is “property consisting of land and the buildings on it, along with its natural resources such as crops, minerals or water; immovable property of this nature; an interest vested in this (also) an item of real property, (more generally) buildings or housing in general. Also: the business of real estate; the profession of buying, selling, or renting land, buildings or housing.” It is a legal term used in jurisdictions such as India, the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Pakistan, Australia, and New Zealand.
Sourced from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Real_estate
The real estate market is a hot cake but at times things are not so good for the stake holders involved. It is therefore important to be acquainted with the factors that affect the industry so as to be prepared for any occurrence.
Demographics
Demographics are the data that describes the composition of a population, such as age, race, gender, income, migration patterns and population growth. These statistics are an often overlooked but significant factor that affects how real estate is priced and what types of properties are in demand. Major shifts in the demographics of a nation can have a large impact on real estate trends for several decades.
For example, the baby boomers who were born between 1945 and 1964 are an example of a demographic trend with the potential to significantly influence the real estate market. The transition of these baby boomers to retirement is one of the more interesting generational trends in the last century, and the retirement of these baby boomers, which began back in 2010, is bound to be noticed in the market for decades to come.
Interest Rates
Interest rates also have a major impact on the real estate markets. Changes in interest rates can greatly influence a person’s ability to purchase a residential property. That is because the lower interest rates go, the lower the cost to obtain a mortgage to buy a home will be, which creates a higher demand for real estate, which again pushes prices up. Conversely, as interest rates rise, the cost to obtain a mortgage increases, thus lowering demand and prices of real estate.
Sourced from: http://www.investopedia.com/articles/mortages-real-estate/11/factors-affecting-real-estate-market.asp
The factors affecting the real estate market are not static but fluid in that they are subject to changes. Experts in the field have predicted certain trends that are expected to take shape in 2017 for instance a change in pricing, more new home owners and of course foreigners are not going anywhere any time soon.
- Rising Rates
In December, the Federal Reserve raised interest rates for only the second time since 2006, and a majority of the members of the Fed’s rate-setting board predict there will be three more increases coming in 2017. These decisions will cause mortgage rates to rise, potentially making it more difficult for prospective homebuyers to be able to afford the home of their dreams. (In fact, those rates have already started creeping up.) But don’t worry too much about this trend. As Redfin Chief Economist Nela Richardson predicts in a recent blog post, “We expect mortgage interest rates to increase, but to no higher than 4.3 percent on the 30-year fixed rate.” That’s still a great deal compared to historical norms.
- More New Homes
Though the most recent data on new home construction showed that builders pulled back on new projects in November, the overall trend in home construction is clearly positive, with the average annual rate of new groundbreakings reaching a 1.163 million rate so far in 2016, up about 5% from 1.108 million in 2015.
Expect this to continue in 2017, as home builders are encouraged by higher wages, looser credit, and increased demand from buyers.
Sourced from: http://fortune.com/2016/12/29/real-estate-trends-2017-2/
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