What Demographics Will Fuel Housing Demand in 2017?

Millennials and the baby boomer population will be demographics to watch in the new year, as the housing decisions they make will increase demand for the next 10 years, according to the 2017 National Housing Forecast reportfrom Realtor.com which details the top housing trends and 100 largest metropolitan markets to watch.

A demographic that is known for benefiting greatly from low mortgage rates, the millennial market’s share of the buyer population has decreased to 33 percent due to the increase in interest rates. Baby boomers take up 30 percent of the buyers’ market and are expected to be more successful in closing sales.  

Home price appreciation is set to slow down to 3.9 percent growth year-over-year after an estimated appreciation rate of4.9 percent in 2016. However, 26 markets will see price acceleration of 1 percentage point growth or more. Greensboro-High Point, North Carolina; Akron, Ohio; and Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, Maryland will encounter the largest increases in price appreciation.

The combination of sparse housing inventory and strong demand was the cause of increased home prices in 2016, according to Realtor.com. The lack of home inventory, which is currently down an average of 11 percent in the top 10 metropolitan areas in the United States, is expected to remain constant in 2017. The current median age of inventory is at 68 days, which is a 14 percent increase than the national average.

West coast cities are expected to lead the nation in home prices and sales with increases of 5.8 percent and 4.7 percent, respectively. Six out of the top 10 cities listed in Realtor.com’s 2017 top 100 metro housing markets list are located on the west coast. The top 10 housing markets are: 1) Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, Arizona; 2) Los Angeles-Long-Beach-Anaheim, California; 3) Boston-Cambridge-Newton, Massachusetts-New Hampshire; 4) Sacramento-Roseville-Arden-Arcade, California; 5) Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario; 6) Jacksonville, Florida; 7) Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, Florida; 8) Raleigh, North Carolina; 9) Tucson, Arizona; and 10) Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, Oregon-Washington.

Guy Arnone

Guy Arnone is a California Licensed Real Estate Broker who belongs to a select group of individuals approved by the California Real Estate Commissioner to perform a special dual service in the real estate industry.


Guy started the Fred Sands of Valencia with five agents. By the time he sold/merged the office in 2009 to Coldwell Banker, Vintage Sotheby’s International Realty office (formerly Fred Sands) had over 150 agents in his organization. His company included mortgage,escrow, commercial and property management divisions and had grown to  be ranked the #3 office in their marketplace.


Licensed by the California Bureau of Real Estate since 1986, Guy has been serving Southern California real estate needs for nearly over 30 years. From representing principals in all facets of real estate brokerage, financing, property management, development, and real estate investing to developing, growing and managing real estate companies.


Guy continues to rank among the top 10% Nationwide of all real estate professionals of transactions of residential, luxury, commercial and multi-residential real estate.


Guy has and continues to serve on many advisory boards including, Women with Vision, Title IX, The Northridge Hospital Foundation, We Are the World Real Estate, Children’s Hunger Fund and The Springbrook Foundation. He enjoys Sports, Art, Travel, History, Reading, Music, and spending time with friends and family. Guy has been married for over 26 years and has three children.