🔒Clemens: CT public-policy decisions will drive home values

Hopefully our state leaders can get their act together and balance the budget and reduce taxes concurrently. 

If that occurs, I expect that overall Connecticut home prices will increase from 2 percent to 3 percent in 2016 and unit sales volume will stay the same as this year or increase 1 percent to 2 percent.

For the Greater Hartford area, I predict price increases in the 2 percent to 5 percent range and unit sales volume will stay about the same as this year. The reason for this difference is that Hartford has a more diversified business base and employment should be more stable than in some other parts of the state.  

Consumer confidence plays an important role in real estate sales. My biggest concern would be a large-scale terrorist attack within the borders of the United States. That would greatly reduce consumer confidence.

Given that such an attack will not likely occur, I anticipate that our economy will continue to plod along and that the Fed will make a token rate increase, which would give a short shot in the arm to home sales. 

[See what others are saying on HBJ's Economic Forecast 2016 page]