Our friends at @Housing Wire recently reported that Fannie Mae has raised its forecast for this year’s home-price gains, saying low mortgage interest rates and a strong labor market will accelerate demand for properties. Doug Duncan, Fannie Mae’s chief economist, said low-interest rates give consumers latitude to bid up prices.
Fannie Mae forecast one month ago that single-family home prices will probably increase at a 4.6% pace this year, compared with 4.1% predicted in December. The forecast is based on the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s home-price index that measures single-family homes purchased using conventional mortgages.
Here’s the story.