It was held at the Grand Del Mar Fairmont in northern San Diego. This is a triple luxury hotel that looks like an Italian palace. Miles from anything and super-expensive, so I didn't stay there. Nice cocktail parties, though. The pic above is the lobby centerpiece.
As with all conventions, there is music over the public address system between speakers. I always expect hits of the '80s but this time it was hits of the late '60s and early '70s -- Doors, Hendrix, Jefferson Airplane, Creedence...seemed a little weird to me, to be honest. But then the average age of the Realtors there was about 55. Perhaps the convention organizers thought it was age-appropriate, but there is something incongruous about hearing "Bad Moon Rising" just before an economist takes the stage.
The speakers were excellent and I learned a a lot. Here are my take-aways for you.
- 2017 is going to be about the same as 2016 for real estate.
- However, prices will show a slight rise. So will interest rates, but we knew that.
- Shortness of inventory is a major problem all over the country. (You knew that.)
- Affordability is a major issue, too. (You knew that too.)
- Student debt is stopping many millenials from buying homes.
- Home ownership is down across the country, and expected to go lower. We may soon become a nation of renters.
- Our recent election and its aftermath has caused uncertainty in all sectors, but not enough to hurt the economy in the long run.
Here's the deal on crystal ball predictions -- they are just predictions. We won't know what's really happening until it happens. In the meantime, I will continue to give my own predictions and also real stats to keep you engaged and aware.
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