Anticipated Trends within Real Estate for the Timeframe of 2025-2029, Finalizing in 2029
According to Fannie Mae's latest Home Price Expectations Survey (HPES) and Economic and Housing Outlook released in July 2025, the housing market is expected to experience moderate but positive home price growth from 2025 through 2029.
Key Findings
The Fannie Mae survey polled multiple experts to forecast home price trends over the next five years. The average projection estimates about 3% price growth per year through 2029, with some optimistic forecasts up to around 5%, and more pessimistic ones still expecting positive annual gains near 1.3%.
Home Price Growth Projections
For 2025, the average forecast is for home prices to increase by 3.4%. In 2026, the prediction is a similar 3.3% growth. The panel's average expectation for national home prices to rise by a total of 19.8% between 2025 and 2029.
Market Transition and Stability
The forecast reflects a market transitioning away from an extraordinary period towards something more grounded, though still influenced by unique post-pandemic dynamics like hybrid work and constrained inventory. The predicted growth for 2025-2029 is comfortably above the bust period (-4.8%), but a bit below the long recovery period (4.5%) and the pre-bubble norm (5.1%).
Market Stability and Moderation
The forecast suggests a shift towards moderation, with home prices projected to continue rising, but at a slower pace. No major national housing price crash is expected; even the most conservative experts foresee home prices rising over the next five years due to factors like low foreclosures, strong homeowner equity, and stable lending conditions.
Rebound in Home Sales
Home sales are expected to rebound, with total sales projected to increase to about 4.85 million in 2025 and 5.35 million in 2026, further indicating healthier market activity.
Mortgage Rate Forecast
Fannie Mae also forecasts mortgage rates to ease somewhat, ending 2025 around 6.4% and falling to 6.0% in 2026, which supports both price growth and a rebound in home sales.
Dispersion and Uncertainty
The Fannie Mae HPES tracks "dispersion", a measure of disagreement among experts about home price predictions. Dispersion spiked significantly around 2022-2023, and remains relatively elevated compared to the 2010s. Factors contributing to this uncertainty include mortgage rate path, economic outlook, inventory levels, and affordability crisis.
In summary, based on Fannie Mae’s Home Price Expectations Survey and related forecasts, the housing market is anticipated to experience slow and steady home price appreciation with annual growth averaging around 2–3% per year through 2029, maintaining market stability without a major downturn. The optimists in the panel predict a cumulative price increase of 31.0% by the end of 2029, while the pessimists forecast a much more modest cumulative gain of 8.3% over the same five-year period. The forecast also suggests a return to a more historically modest pace of appreciation.
- Despite some variation in expert opinions, the average forecast from Fannie Mae's Home Price Expectations Survey indicates a moderate but positive growth of around 3% per year in home prices from 2025 through 2029.
- The Fannie Mae survey predicts a total national home price increase of approximately 19.8% between 2025 and 2029.
- The housing market is anticipated to transition towards a more grounded state while still being impacted by post-pandemic dynamics, with the predicted growth for 2025-2029 comfortably above the bust period but below the pre-bubble norm.
- The forecast also predicts a rebound in home sales, with total sales projected to increase to about 5.35 million in 2026.
- Fannie Mae's forecast suggests that mortgage rates will ease somewhat, ending 2025 around 6.4% and falling to 6.0% in 2026.
- The Fannie Mae HPES shows a high degree of disagreement among experts about home price predictions, with dispersion remaining relatively elevated compared to the 2010s, due to uncertainty factors like mortgage rate path, economic outlook, inventory levels, and affordability crisis.
