The Delaware Valley Chapter of The Counselors of Real Estate, in conjunction with The Daniel M. DiLella Center for Real Estate, Villanova School of Business, recently hosted an Economic Update featuring Dr. Mark Zandi of Moody’s Analytics. The takeaways for CREs and others in attendance were:

• Full U.S. employment is expected around mid-summer 2016.
• Wages are rising, especially in professional services, and consumer spending is strong.
• Expect more HH formations and strong multifamily demand for the next 3 years from the 3.5 million millennials who are living at home or tripling with roommates.
• Expect interest rates to start rising in December to a peak of 3.5% in 3 years.
• The average age of the first-time homebuyer is 32. The current median age of the millennials is 26.
• The home ownership percentage was 64% in 1992 and 70% at its peak in 2007-2008. It is currently 63% and will probably settle at 64% with the high cost of mortgages today.