Merry Christmas!
We hope you were able to spend time with family and celebrate this important day. It looks like I'm working but kids are playing with toys and Angie is working on a puzzle and watching a movie, so I'm sneaking in a couple more blogs before the week ends.
REAL ESTATE FORECAST
Nobody has a crystal ball but we can make some educated guesses (some of us less educated than others). Here are some of my predictions for real estate in Cody Wyoming and Powell.
- Strong sales. Last year was really good, particularly for lower-priced homes. A lot of first-time home buyers and investors ate up the inventory. Upper-priced homes were still a little slow due to an increased inventory after oil took a hit. Expect oil (and other businesses) to make a big comeback in 2017 which should help move some of the remaining inventory.
- Strong rentals. The rental market took a big hit in 2015 when oil left and we haven't recovered. We expect that to turn around for the same reasons mentioned above. In fact, I expect the demand to come back stronger than it was prior to the collapse, helping drive rent rates higher.
- Rates increasing. I've been saying rates were held artificially low to prop up a stagnant economy. As soon as Trum was elected, rates started going up and I expect that trend to continue next year. Higher rates may slow buying which could lower sales prices, but we don't expect rates to raise fast enough to hit us in 2017.
- Overall economy. If Trump holds to his promises, we'll see a reduction in business regulations and tax rates. This should boost the economy and encourage spending. Businesses can hire more employees which means more people capable of buying a house after sitting the market out for the past eight years. Higher earners will be able to afford more and may see this as an opportune time to upgrade their home or invest in real estate.
Again, nobody can foretell the future but this is my prediction based on knowledge of the local market and what I'm seeing happen across the nation. No matter what happens, rest assured American West Realty is here to help you navigate the market.
SALES MANAGEMENT RENTALS
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