Home Price Gains Likely to Slow Down.(Brief Article)

Industry economists are backing up what recent statistics have indicated - that home price growth has slowed down.

Fueled by low interest rates and a tight market, home prices have risen significantly faster than inflation in recent years, but now economists at Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the Mortgage Bankers Association of America believe that the pace of home price gains is slowing.

However, none expect to see prices fall on a national basis.

Fannie Mae expects to see home price gains nationally in the range of 4% to 5% this year, a figure that would be in line with family income growth.

Speaking at the MBA National Mortgage Servicing Conference, Freddie Mac principal economist Amy Cutts said she expects the pace of home price gains "are going to coast down" this year, perhaps to about 4.8%, the long-term average rate of annual home price growth. She said the rate may even dip below that long-term average.

While Ms. Cutts sees little reason to ...