Effects
By Matthew Frankel
January 3, 2015
Following double-digit gains in 2012 and 2013, U.S. home prices grew at a much slower pace in 2014, with the average home increasing in value by less than 3%.
So what’s in store for 2015? While it’s impossible to know for sure what the future will hold, there are a few good reasons to believe 2015 could be an excellent year for real estate.
It’s getting expensive to be a renter
According to a report from Zillow, U.S. renters paid almost 5% more rent in 2014 than in 2013. Some areas of the country saw much sharper rent increases. For example, San Francisco saw its average rent rise by 14% in the past year. And because home prices rose by less than 3% in 2014, it’s fair to say that rent is getting expensive faster than home ownership is.
