SAN FRANCISCO—Asked to describe the housing market in a single word, Marcus & Millichap's Hessam Nadji responded with “sustainable.” The GlobeSt.com Thought Leader was interviewed on BloombergTV this past Monday in connection with the National Association of Realtors' release of the latest numbers on existing-home sales.
Chief strategy officer at MMI, Nadji supported his confident appraisal with a number of factors. “We're seeing economic fundamentals improve, job growth is gaining momentum, interest rates are still very attractive and in a sustainable low period because of the deflationary effects of the higher dollar and lower energy prices,” he said. Added to which is “the move away from an investor-dominated and distress-dominated marketplace into a more fundamentals-driven market.”
Although cash-only housing transactions have declined year-over-year, Nadji notes that “there's still a fair amount of speculation going on in the marketplace.” More important, though, is the fact that the housing sector is normalizing. “We're seeing the same thing in commercial real estate, which is far ahead of housing in the recovery, both in prices and fundamentals.”
Nadji also discussed the effects of an interest rate increase, which looks like an increasing possibility sometime this year. “On both the residential and commercial side, we're seeing enough of an acknowledgement” of an eventual rate increase to bring some players off the sidelines, he observed.
For the full video, click here. For all coverage of Marcus & Millichap on GlobeSt.com, including columns and insights from Hessam Nadji, click here.
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