Erratic and dramatic mortgage rate movements that heavily influenced the housing market in 2024 are destined to play a major role in the coming year, according to Zillow's latest market report.
"There's a strong sense of déjà vu on tap for 2025. We are once again expecting mortgage rates to get better gradually, and opportunities for buyers should follow, but be prepared for plenty of bumps on that path," Zillow Chief Economist Skylar Olsen said in a release. "Those shopping this winter have plenty of time to choose and a relatively strong position in negotiations."
A forecast for slowly declining mortgage rates in 2025 spells gradual growth for both sales and home price appreciation in Zillow's outlook. A September dip in rates gave a second-half tailwind to this year's home sales — Zillow expects 4.06 million sales for 2024. That number should rise slightly to 4.16 million in 2025. Home values are forecast to tick up 2.2 percent over the course of 2025, right in line with the 2.3 percent annual appreciation observed in November.
Recent and unpredictable drops in mortgage rates further impress the need for buyers to be ready to move when opportunity arises. Zillow's new BuyAbilitySM tool uses current daily mortgage rates to determine a home budget that is affordable for individual users, based on their unique financial situation.
After the ups and downs of the past five years, many measures of the housing market are trending closer to historical norms. The flow of new listings to the market is still nearly 14 percent lower than it was before the pandemic, but that's great progress over March's 25 percent deficit.
Total for-sale inventory is similarly clawing its way out of a deep hole that developed early in the pandemic. It's now about 26 percent below the norms for 2018–2019, the smallest shortfall seen since September 2020. Both of these should continue to improve next year, but again, progress will depend heavily on what happens with rates.
Shoppers looking for homes during the slower winter months may have an opportunity to snag a deal in a market that's becoming increasingly buyer-friendly. Zillow's market heat index shows competition for homes cooled nationwide and in 36 of 50 major U.S. metro areas from October to November.
While the number of options available to shoppers today are lower than they will likely see in the spring, there's also less competition in the field. The share of homes that sold for more than list price was below 28 percent in October (the latest data available), continuing a downward trend that began in July. Compared to the spring rush, buyers today should have an easier time negotiating from a position of safety, with a greater chance to buy contingent on inspections or repairs and a lesser chance of being drawn into a bidding war, Zillow added.