Bakersfield, CA Real Estate Market Forecast for 2017

A recent forecast for the Bakersfield real estate market suggests that home prices could rise more in 2017 than they did during 2016. Economists are predicting a gain of around 3.3% in 2017.

That’s about how much U.S. home prices have appreciated annually (on average) going back several decades. So it seems the Bakersfield, California housing market will have a “normal” year in 2017.

Bakersfield Housing Market Forecast for 2017

Bakersfield, a city of about 360,000 residents, had a relatively uneventful year in 2016 from a real estate perspective. The local housing market in Bakersfield has largely avoided the volatility seen in some of the coastal California cities.

According to the economic research team at Zillow, the median home price in Bakersfield rose by a modest 1.7% during 2016, landing at $213,200 at year’s end. But there’s a chance the city could experience larger gains during 2017. Zillow’s forecast for the Bakersfield housing market in 2017 predicts a 12-month price increase of 3.3%, which would put it on par with the national forecast for 2017.

Related: California real estate predictions

More Homes for Sale

Inventory has a lot to do with the modest price gains of 2016. Many California cities have had a shortage of housing supply in recent years, creating fierce competition among home buyers and driving prices north at a rapid pace. But that’s not the case in the Bakersfield real estate market.

In fact, a recent study by the real estate information company Trulia showed that inventory was on the rise in Bakersfield. From the third quarter of 2015 to the same period in 2016, the number of homes for sale in the city rose by 10.6%. That put Bakersfield among the top 10 cities for inventory growth, out of the 100 largest cities in the country.

According to the September 2016 Trulia report:

“While [home] prices aren’t likely to fall anytime soon because of healthy demand, growing inventory may help moderate the strong price gains that these markets have experienced since market bottom in 2012.”

This is good news for anyone planning to buy a home in Bakersfield in 2017. Next year, home buyers should have more properties to choose from.

Loan Limits Will Go Up in 2017

Here’s some good news for Bakersfield home buyers and mortgage shoppers. Loan limits in all of Kern County will go up in 2017, in response to home price gains that occurred during 2016. Federal housing officials made this announcement toward the end of 2016, and it applies to all loan types.

The limit for a single-family FHA loan will go up to $275,665 in 2017. Conventional and VA loan limits will rise to $424,100. To be clear, borrowers who need financing above these limits still have options. “Jumbo” mortgage loans that exceed the above limits are still available in 2017. Please contact us if you have questions about your loan options.

Disclaimer: This article contains data, forecasts and predictions for the Bakersfield real estate market in 2017. Such information was provided by third parties not associated with our company. We have compiled it here as an educational service to our readers.