Veros Real Estate Solutions, an analysis firm based in Santa Ana, Calif., released a quarterly report predicting that 83% of U.S. markets would appreciate in value in the next 12 months.
Veros also expects an average appreciation in value of 2.4%. The company says it surveyed 1,026 counties, 352 metro areas and 13,904 ZIP codes for its forecast.
According to a company press release, this is the ninth consecutive quarter that the firm has predicted overall market appreciation, though it says the pace of appreciation has trended downwards.
A geographical trend also emerged in the forecast: the 25 markets Veros predicts will be strongest over the next 12 months are all located west of the Mississippi, with eight in California alone. All of the bottom 25 markets, except Hot Springs, Ark., are east of the river.
Jobs and population shifts away from the Northeast and Midwest account for much of this. "Not unexpectedly, prices will rise where supplies are low," Eric Fox, vice president of statistical and economic modeling at Veros, said in a press release. "In the bottom forecast markets, declining population trends are a key variable for the sixth straight quarter."
