Almost half (46 percent) of the real estate economists and experts surveyed in Zillow’s latest Home Price Expectations Survey believe mortgage underwriting standards are about right today, but an equal number, 47 percent, said they are too still restrictive.
Though the experts couldn’t agree on where standards should be, most agreed on where they are going.
More than 60 percent expect regulations to loosen more than they have, with some panelists expressing concern about a return to bubble-era lending policies. Some 4 percent said mortgage restrictions will become too lax in the next year, and 25 percent said they will become too lax within the next five years.
Panelists in the quarterly survey, which polls more than 100 housing experts, predicted slowing home value appreciation and looser lending restrictions in the next year. Despite that, 44 percent said they thought renter households would continue to outpace homeowner households, largely because of financial barriers, such as large debt burdens and slow wage growth.
Another 42 percent of the experts surveyed said looser credit restrictions, an improving economy, and the rising cost of renting would drive more people to buy in the next one to two years.
“Renters face several challenges,” said Zillow Chief Economist Dr. Stan Humphries. “They need enough money on hand to start to buy homes. Even as mortgage credit becomes easier to obtain and home prices level off, renters are confronted with slow income growth and high rental rates. In addition, they face sometimes fierce competition for very few available homes in the market.”
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http://www.realestateeconomywatch.com/2015/05/
