2015 Housing Forecast

According to Freddie Mac economists, the following projections in housing for 2015

1. Mortgage rates: Interest rates will likely be on the rise next year. By next year, Freddie projects mortgage rates to average 4.6 percent and inch up to 5 percent by the end of the year.
2. Home prices: Continued house-price appreciation and rising mortgage rates will dampen affordability for home buyers. Historically speaking, that's moving from 'very high' levels of affordability to 'high' levels of affordability.
3. Housing starts: Homebuilding is expected to ramp up in the new year, projected to rise by 20 percent from this year. That will likely help total home sales to climb by about 5 percent, reaching the best sales pace in eight years.
4. Single-family originations: Mortgage originations of single-family homes will likely slip by an additional 8 percent, which can be attributed to a steep drop in refinancing volume. Refinancings are expected to make up only 23 percent of originations in 2015; they had been making up more than half in recent years.
5. Multi-family mortgage originations: Mortgage originations for the multi-family sector have surged about 60 percent between 2011 and 2014. Increases are expected to continue in 2015, projected to rise about 14 percent.