Concern about home values was prevalent earlier this year, with a national – and global – economic shutdown going on. Understandably, there was a frightened expectation that 2020 would see an ongoing home appreciation trend come to a screeching halt.
Would home values begin to depreciate? This was a valid question.
As the year has unfolded, there has clearly been very little negative impact on residential real estate. Leading chief economists have made claims that the only major industry to display immunity to COVID-19 is the housing market.
According to the latest Home Price Index by the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), home prices were reported to have actually risen 6.5% from this same time last year.
Record levels of national home price appreciation between May and July 2020 were noted at over 2%, which is the largest two-month price increase observed since the start of the index in 1991.
The graph below indicates what housing and economic experts are projecting for home prices for the next 12 months, using data from forecasts published since September 1, 2020.
Numbers show that home values have weathered the storm of the pandemic by this point in time.