Home prices

Home prices, sales volumes, interest rates are expected to drop next year, researchers at the company forecasted.

But they will start increasing again by next October, according to a forecast by CoreLogic.

Allowing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to buy these loans encourages consumers to purchase more expensive homes, the group said.

The increased limit on the size of the mortgages the government-sponsored enterprises will be able to buy reflects the year-over-year change in home prices.

It was the third straight decline for the seasonally adjusted measure of prices in 20 large U.S. cities, according to the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller index. 

"This is Han Solo in carbonite: This is a market that could stay frozen for quite some time," said Benjamin Keys, a real estate professor at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School.

The decline in loan activity and softening prices also helped drive down builder sentiment for the 11th month in a row.

The coming months are likely to see greater focus on single-family rentals, reduced credit availability and potential new competitors entering the market.

The limit for high-cost areas for 2023, 50 percent above the baseline limit, would be approximately $1.08 million, writes a former principal economist with the Federal Housing Finance Agency.

However, of those that would choose face-to-face interaction, 40% want it to include a hybrid or fully digital process.