Housing demand to surge

Now is a good time to be an originator, with the next ten years expected to be one of the best decades on record for housing demand

Mortgage originators who have weathered the storm of the economic downturn will be rewarded for their perseverance, with one industry association forecasting sunny skies over the next decade.

"Household formation has been depressed in recent years by a long, jobless recovery and by a lull in the growth of the working age population," Lynn Fisher, vice president of research and economics for MBA, said in a release.  "Improving employment markets will build on major demographic trends - including maturing of baby boomers, Hispanics and millennials - to create strong growth in both owner and rental housing markets over the next decade."

The Mortgage Bankers Association predicts between 13.9 and 15.9 million households will be formed by 2024, led in large part by Hispanic households, with 5.5-5.6 million more forecasted for 2024 than in 2014.

Baby boomers are expected to drive a great deal of growth, with 12.3-12.9 million more households formed by those aged 60 and over in 2024 than there are today.

Millennials, meanwhile, will become more aggressive when it comes to buying homes over the course of the next decade.

"When it comes to starting new households, age 35 is the new 25, as younger Americans are spending a longer time in school and delaying major life events like getting married and having children," Jamie Woodwell, vice president of commercial real estate research for MBA, said in a release.  "As Millennials age and create more housing demand, these long-term social trends will mix with demographic changes and the waning hang-over from the Great Recession with a net outcome of increased demand for housing.”