Experts are predicting a strong 2015 in the housing market in general and—more specifically—in the sale of newly constructed homes.
The signs point to about 820,000 new homes to be built this year. If this happens, that will be a 25% increase from last year, and the best year for new home sales since 2007.
However, the projected number of new homes is still shy of the historical average of 1 million new homes a year.
So what has slowed down new home sales in the past, and how is that changing?
Part of the reason for the sluggishness in new home construction is that as a nation we are still recovering from the after-effects of 2008’s crash. Banks have been wary of granting loans to both builders and buyers—though that hesitation is finally starting to decrease, as indicated by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac‘s new 3% down option.
Many Millennials were greatly effected by the 2008 crash, with many held back from home ownership by large amounts of student debt. This may also be changing in 2015, though, with Millennials predicted to be a major force in the housing market in 2015.
There are other signs of a recovering economy that, combined with a relatively low number of older homes for resale, make 2015 a promising year for new home construction and sales.