Housing market predictions for 2025

The housing market in 2025 could have a more favorable outlook than much of 2024 had, due to improving mortgage rates and inventory levels. There’s still uncertainty in the air, though: Rising prices and slowing construction could cause some trouble for buyers in 2025, and the impact of the presidential election remains a wild card.

Home prices, mortgage rates, inventory levels and more will all shape housing affordability moving into 2025. Curious where these trends may go? Read on to learn what the experts predict for the 2025 housing market.

What will happen to the housing market in 2025?

A year after rising just above 8 percent in October 2023, the average 30-year mortgage rate sat at 6.78 percent as of October 23, 2024 — an improvement, to be sure, but not the big dip many were hoping for. Many experts do foresee mortgage rates decreasing slowly over the next year, though.

“Lower interest rates will unleash some of the pent-up demand for housing in 2025,” says Bernard Markstein, president and chief economist for Markstein Advisors. “This will help keep mortgage rates above their ultra-low rate of just a few years ago, [but] rates will be lower than current levels.”

Housing inventories have also been improving of late, with a 4.3-month supply at the end of September 2024, according to existing-home data from the National Association of Realtors (NAR). While that is still below the 5 to 6 months typically needed for a balanced market, it’s a significant improvement from the 2.9-month supply seen back in February. And there’s growing optimism among homebuilders, too, with lower interest rates granting more potential access to capital.

On top of typical housing concerns, there’s also the question of how a new presidential administration could impact housing. “The wild card for the outlook remains the election,” said Carl Harris, chairman of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), in a recent statement. “With housing policy a top-tier issue for candidates, policymakers should be focused on supply-side solutions to the housing crisis.”

Will home sales decline?

The volume of homes sold has fallen off in 2024, with the most recent existing-home sales numbers sliding both month-over-month and year-over-year, according to NAR. Many buyers are staying on the sidelines, anticipating lower mortgage rates to come in 2025 and hoping for prices to moderate.

“Home sales have been essentially stuck at around a four-million-unit pace for the past 12 months, but factors usually associated with higher home sales are developing,” NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun said in an October statement. “There are more inventory choices for consumers, lower mortgage rates than a year ago and continued job additions to the economy.”

In fact, CoreLogic, a real estate data firm, predicts total home sales will increase by 9 percent in 2025 compared to 2024, according to chief economist Selma Hepp. “In addition to lower mortgage rates helping drive home-sale activity next year,” she says, “greater availability of homes for sale will help homebuyers’ choices and improve affordability, as it reduces the probability of bidding wars and escalating home-price appreciation.”

The lower rates go, the more likely we’ll be to see homeowners locked into lower rates finally feel comfortable about selling their current home to buy a new one. “Roughly 70 percent of mortgage debt is currently below a 5 percent interest rate,” says Nina Gidwaney, head of refinance and home equity at Chase Home Lending. “If rates continue to decline, we’ll likely see the lock-in effect soften, and consumers will be more willing to purchase a home and take on a higher rate than they currently have.”

Will housing inventory increase?

Inventory has been rising, albeit slowly. But if it is to grow meaningfully in 2025, don’t expect it to come from existing homes, says Greg McBride, CFA, Bankrate’s chief financial analyst. “Mortgage rates won’t fall enough [in 2025] to spur an increase in existing-home inventory, with most of the increase in inventory seen in the market coming from new construction,” says McBride.

The NAHB regularly surveys builders for its monthly Housing Market Index (HMI). The HMI data released in October found that more than half of builders surveyed had a positive outlook for new home sales in the next six months. “While housing affordability remains low, builders are feeling more optimistic about 2025 market conditions,” said Harris.

Will home prices go down?

The median sale price for an existing home in the U.S. hit a record-high $426,900 in June 2024, according to NAR. While it has since dipped slightly, it remains higher than last year. These rising prices are likely to continue in 2025, but at a slower pace. CoreLogic predicts that home-price appreciation will slow to an average growth of 2 percent for 2025, as compared to 4.5 percent growth in 2024, according to Hepp.

Markets with greater inventory are the ones most likely to see home prices drop, Hepp adds, while popular regions with less new inventory, particularly in the West and Northeast, will continue to see steady price increases. The top markets for price increases in the next year include Miami, Boston and Denver, CoreLogic forecasts. Markets that it predicts will be most susceptible to price decreases include Atlanta and Salt Lake City.

McBride agrees that, while overall prices are not likely to go down in 2025, they won’t rise quite as much: “Home-price appreciation will be particularly tepid, with many markets seeing little or no change in prices,” he says.

Will 2025 be a buyer’s or seller’s market?

While the housing market improved for buyers over the course of 2024, it remains tight enough that 2025 is likely to remain a seller’s market in most areas. The good news is that inventories and demand appear to be coming more into balance, but “many regions remain significantly undersupplied, making it difficult to experience a buyer’s market,” says Hepp.

According to McBride, “Most areas will still lean toward a seller’s market due to limited inventory. However, those markets that have seen a surge in inventory will definitely be more of a buyer’s market and will be susceptible to price declines.”

Bottom line

The continued combination of high mortgage rates, steep home prices and insufficient inventory levels points to 2025 being another tough year for buyers and sellers. On the plus side, rates have cooled a bit — and if that continues through 2025, as some experts predict, then market activity should heat up in response.

The complexities of the current conditions mean that, now more than ever, it’s smart to lean on the guidance of an experienced local real estate agent. If you want to enter the housing market in 2025, whether as a buyer or a seller, let a pro lead the way for you.

FAQs

• Should I buy a house in 2025 or wait?

  In 2024, many prospective homebuyers chose to wait things out in the hopes that 2025 will bring a more advantageous market. But continued rising home prices and tight supply mean that 2025 could still be a tough time to buy. If rates continue to go down, though, that would alter the landscape — not only would it make the purchase more affordable for buyers, but homeowners locked into their previous lower rates might finally choose to sell, which would add much-needed inventory to the market.

• Will mortgage rates drop in 2025?

  Rates are expected to ease somewhat in 2025, yes — but don’t expect a return to the days of 3 percent mortgages. It will likely be more of a slow decline. As of late October, 2024, Bankrate data shows that the average rate for a 30-year fixed mortgage was 6.78 percent.

• Will there be a housing recession in 2025?

  No — experts do not think a housing market crash is looming. Lending standards are much more strict now than they were before the Great Recession, and with low inventory and high demand both continuing, the housing market is not likely to enter a recession in the coming year.