Future bright for Valley real estate

Fresno real estate experts have some good news about the commercial and residential markets this year: Home prices are expected to climb somewhat, and large retail projects are slated to begin construction.

That prediction Thursday night at the Fresno Real Estate Forecast is a change from recent years, when experts at the annual event expected meager home sales, no projects and a far-off real estate recovery.

But things look brighter this year as the job market improves, mortgage interest rates remain low and home prices remain affordable, said Joan Eaton, owner and broker of Guarantee Real Estate.

Eaton was one of eight speakers at the event, which is organized by the Economic Development Corporation serving Fresno County.

Prices will begin to creep back up in the next few years because the inventory of homes for sale in the Fresno area is at a six-year low, Eaton said.

"We have a shortage of homes," Eaton said. "We are shifting to a seller's market."

In January, there was little more than a three-month supply of houses for sale based on the current pace of sales, according to the Fresno multiple listing service. A healthy market has three to six months of houses for sale, Eaton said.

And after four years of no new retail construction, at least three projects could begin this year. That's a good sign for an industry that has struggled as national retailers pulled out of the Valley and few local businesses moved or expanded.

Construction on the retail portion of Campus Pointe at Fresno State will start this spring. By late summer, dirt should move for the El Paseo shopping center south of Herndon Avenue and east of Highway 99 in northwest Fresno. And Clovis Crossings at Clovis and Herndon avenues near Highway 168, anchored by Walmart and Dick's Sporting Goods, should start to take shape.

"Gazing into the crystal ball is never an easy task," said Peter Orlando, a partner and broker at Retail California. But based on local real estate indicators, he said, "the future is bright."

Source: http://www.fresnobee.com/2012/03/15/2762811/future-bright-for-valley-real.html