These Are the Top 5 Housing Trends for 2019

For many people, the new year is a chance to reflect on what’s happened in the last 12 months, make resolutions and goals for the upcoming year, and to have an opportunity to start on a clean slate. While many would like to apply this ideology to things that are often out of our control, for instance, the housing market, unfortunately, a new year doesn’t necessarily mean any changes in this department.

Rather, a new year is simply a continuation of what we’ve seen for the last couple of months, which in terms of the housing market, hasn’t been so positive. 2018 was one of the worst years the housing market has experienced since 2008. That being said, while we may not see any substantial changes this year, what we will see is a series of trends which may or may not impact your job as a real estate agent.

1) Technology Will Continue to Take Over

In the last few years, we have seen how technology has impacted the housing market. There have been debates discussing whether or not technology will take jobs away from real estate agents, enhance their productivity, or both. Whether or not you utilize technology yourself, there’s no denying that 2019 will start to see predictions regarding technology, come into play.

For instance, this year will see a rise in tech companies and applications that will use artificial intelligence to analyze data, whether that’s to help improve the broken market or help agents understand their market better. We’ll also see an increase as to how technology will change housing transactions and platforms, and how it will influence buyer decisions due to its impact on convenience (i.e. drone delivery).

2) Prices in Metropolitan Cities Will Drop

Last month, the housing markets in west coast cities were showing signs of correction. As cities like San Francisco and San Diego – two of the most expensive markets in the world – demonstrated an increase in listings with price reductions, it’s clear that some change is happening, even if we don’t know yet what that change will mean in the long term. Even New York City is beginning to see prices drop, which could be an indication of a positive turn for the housing market across the United States.

3) People Are Still Moving Into the Suburbs

Last year, there was a lot of speculation about whether or not Millenials were moving in or out of big cities. With more people working remotely, others choosing convenience over commute, and others prioritizing affordability over everything else, it’s hard to collect specific data on the matter. However, according to Curbed, “based on ULI’s Top 20 Emerging Market Report, 55 percent of new residents over the last five years have relocated to suburban homes.”

The difference is the word “suburbia.” Instead of moving so far away from cities as people did in the 60s, young people still want to live in 18-hour cities, in what is referred to as “second-city suburbs.” 18-hour cities, according to Investopedia, are those that still offer the amenities and job markets of a large city, but without the 24-hour hustle of top-tier cities. These areas are more affordable, more laid-back, and overall, have more stable housing markets and economies than their larger counterparts.

4) New Demands will Shape Development

What people are looking for when they buy their dream home is not the same as it was thirty years ago. People prioritize features like sustainability and how eco-friendly a building is. Additionally, renters moving into apartments have grown tired of buildings and landlords not providing them with the basics. Some new housing developments, which can almost be seen as futuristic, have been built with everything a person needs and more, so much so that they don’t even need to leave their complex. These developments have everything from co-working spaces to dog parks, and markets.

Due to these demands (which, by the way, aren’t unreasonable), developers have to be mindful of what goes into a complex when they construct it. Likewise, landlords of older buildings without these amenities will need to be more competitive by dropping their rent prices even lower.

5) The Future of the Housing Market is Still Unpredictable

Despite evidence of some changes taking place, the truth is that trends are just trends, and they are not necessarily suggestive of anything absolute. At the moment, according to HUD, people still spend more than half their income paying for a roof over their heads. As those in power, work to come up with ideas to fix this problem, at this point, we don’t know when or if it will change over the next year.