Curb Appeal: Owners of high-priced homes seek combined $4.5M

To close out 2019, $4.5 million worth of high-dollar homes were posted for sale in Springfield, according to Southern Missouri Regional MLS data.

For the monthly editorial series Curb Appeal, Springfield Business Journal compiled a list of single-family homes within city limits that have an asking price of $500,000 or more. Six properties made the list in December, compared with nine in November and seven in October.

Keller Williams listed four of the homes, including a $1.3 million residence in east Springfield.

A forecast posted last month by public government-sponsored enterprise Freddie Mac (OTC: FMCC) is predicting growth in residential real estate during 2020.

Freddie Mac officials estimate a jump in home sales to 6.2 million from 6 million in 2019. A further increase to 6.3 million home sales is projected in 2021, according to a news release.

“A more accommodative monetary policy stance and robust labor market helped the U.S. housing market regain its footing in 2019,” said Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist, in the release. “Improved sentiment, lower financial market volatility and trade headwinds are setting up a favorable economic environment for continued real estate market growth in 2020.”

Freddic Mac predictions include:
• a 2.8% drop in home prices in 2020;
• a 3.8% 30-year fixed-rate mortgage in 2020 and 2021; and
• annual mortgage originations of $2 trillion in 2020 and $1.9 trillion in 2021.