Fresno Housing Market Forecast for 2017: Steady Gains

Summary: Recent housing market forecasts for Fresno, California suggest that home prices will continue rising steadily in 2017.

Fresno has largely avoided the dramatic price swings of other California metro areas, particularly those along the coast. As a result, the Fresno housing market is expected to have a healthy level of home-price appreciation in 2017, while other California markets could level off. Prices could rise by around 4% next year, according to one source.

CoreLogic: Fresno Home Prices Still Rising

New data from CoreLogic, a real estate information and analytics company, showed that the Fresno real estate market is still appreciating steadily. Home prices in and around the city rose by 4.4% in September 2016, compared to the same time last year. This puts local homeowners in a better equity position, enabling some to refinance their homes.

It also creates concern among local home buyers. Some buyers worry that they might end up paying more for a home if they “sit on the fence” for too long. And based on recent forecasts for the Fresno housing market, this is a valid concern.

Fresno Housing Market Forecast for 2017: Continued Gains

The economic team at Zillow recently offered a forecast for the Fresno real estate market in 2017. The company said it expects home values in the city to continue rising over the next 12 months, though at a slightly slower pace than the last 12 months.

According to a recent (November) statement on the company’s website: “The median home value in Fresno is $198,500 … home values have gone up 6.4% over the past year and Zillow predicts they will rise 4.3% within the next year.”

In comparison, their economists expect house prices nationwide to rise by around 3% from November 2016 to November 2017. These predictions suggest that the Fresno housing market could outperform the nation next year, in terms of home-price appreciation.

Mortgage Rate Predictions Create Urgency

If real estate “fence sitters” need another reason to enter the market, here it is. Mortgage rates rose sharply last week, with the average rate for a 30-year home loan climbing nearly 40 basis points. And mortgage industry analysts expect additional increases throughout 2017.

Related: California mortgage rate analysis

During the week ending on November 18th, the average rate for a 30-year fixed mortgage loan shot up to 3.94%. That was an increase of 40 basis points over the previous week’s average. The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) expects 30-year loan rates to climb above 4% during 2017.

Here is the MBA’s quarterly forecast for 30-year loan rates, from their latest forecast:

• Q1 2017: 3.9%
• Q2 2017: 4.1%
• Q3 2017: 4.3%
• Q4 2017: 4.4%

If these predictions prove accurate, Fresno home buyers who put off their purchases until later in 2017 could end up paying more for a home, and for a mortgage loan. So a strong case could be made to buy sooner rather than later.

Related: California real estate predictions

Disclaimers: This article includes forecasts and predictions for the Fresno, California real estate market in 2017. These forward-looking statements were provided by third parties not associated with our company. We have simply presented them here as an educational service to our readers.