Zillow releases 2017 housing predictions under President Trump
Economists at Zillow are predicting a trend reversal in 2017, due partly to expected policy changes under President-elect Trump and partly to the ongoing housing recovery. Experts there say 2017 will see more millennial home ownership, more driving and rising construction costs.
While acknowledging that urban areas like Philadelphia are likely to continue focusing on dense growth near public transit, researchers at Zillow are predicting that homeowners will be forced to move further into suburbs to find affordable housing – leading to an increase in Americans driving to work.
Researchers also predicted that hard-line policies limiting immigration and immigrant labor would exacerbate construction labor shortages, with the likely result being higher prices for construction. Zillow's Chief Economist Svenja Gudell said buyers would absorb those costs.
"A shortage of construction workers as a result may force builders to pay higher wages, costs which are likely to get passed on to buyers in the form of higher new home prices," Gudell said in a statement.
The researchers did have a little bit of good news for buyers: they predicted a jump in millennial homeownership as well in home values overall.
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