A Virginia-based real estate agent hones in on a semi-annual forecast for the real estate market that’s less bullish, while yet still foreseeing continued economic expansion for the next two years.

McLean, VA -- (ReleaseWire) -- 02/08/2016 --Seggerman Homes is gearing up to assist homebuyers and investors as forecasters foresee continued economic expansion through 2017.

According to a three-year economic forecast from the Urban Land Institute (ULI) Center for Capital Markets and Real Estate that was released last fall, the real estate market is projected to continue expanding at healthy and fairly steady levels through 2017.

Seggerman explained that the ULI Real Estate Consensus Forecast, a semi-annual outlook, is based on a survey of 48 of the industry's top economists and analysts representing 36 of the country's leading real estate investment, advisory, and research firms and organizations.

Seggerman, who is licensed in Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, D.C., went on to point out that the US economy and real estate markets are in much better shape than in most other countries, but global economies and capital markets are increasingly inter-related. Still, the vast majority of indicators in the forecast indicate favorable economic and capital markets in the U.S., as well as moderately strong real estate fundamentals and investment returns.

According to the ULI report, the Consensus Forecast predicts that single-family housing starts will increase to 745,000 in 2015, 842,000 in 2016, and 900,000 in 2017, but still remain below the 20-year average. Home price increases are expected to moderate to 5.0 percent in 2015, 4.3 percent in 2016, and 3.9 percent in 2017. Compared to six months ago, forecasts for housing starts in 2015 and 2016 are more optimistic, while the forecast for 2017 remains unchanged.

Regarding real estate capital markets, commercial real estate transaction volume is expected to remain stable at around $500 billion in all three forecast years. Issuance of commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) is expected to continue to grow steadily through 2017, with projected increases to $110 billion in 2015 to $130 billion in 2016 and to $140 billion in 2017.

For more information, please visit: http://www.seggermanhomes.com, http://www.johnseggerman.com or stop by Seggerman's Main Office at: 6257 Old Dominion Drive, McLean, VA 22101.