We asked housing industry experts to look beyond the snow to tell us their predictions for the 2015 housing market.

“I see many reasons for 2015 to be a strong year for residential real estate in Massachusetts. The unemployment rate is dropping and job growth is improving. Mortgage interest rates remain at historic lows. Median home prices in the vast majority of Massachusetts communities remain well below their peaks of 10 years ago. I believe the spring market will see lots of people shopping for a home. The big question is, will there be enough new listings to fuel robust sales? Lack of inventory has been holding the market back.” — Timothy M. Warren Jr., CEO, The Warren Group

“The resurgence of home prices is pouring equity into homeowner’s pockets. It’s creating mad strategists out of every buyer and their agent eager to secure property in the high-stakes poker that is buying real estate in highly desirable towns and chic neighborhoods throughout Greater Boston … Interest rates may stay low until the end of the year or early 2016, but we know that cheap money is breeding home appreciation. When consumers start to see the rates go up, there will be a mad rush to buy before they go any higher.” — Linda O’Koniewski, co-broker/owner, Re/MAX Leading Edge

“Since the recession ended, every year has gotten better [on the Cape]. But last year, the real high-end market seemed to be back. We had three big sells over $10 million. We had a couple of tear-down properties that when they put new houses on them will be over $10 million. So, that was really encouraging that the high-end market was back … One thing that’s different on the Cape is that we still have a nice inventory on all price ranges. From a buyer’s standpoint, there’s still some relatively nice opportunity. You don’t need to jump on a property the second it comes on the market; you can think about it. The market didn’t come roaring back, like in Boston, which I feel good about. It’s coming back gradually and nicely.” — Paul Grover, co-broker/owner, Robert Paul Properties

“As the pent-up buyer demand from the recession years wanes, first-time buyers will be able to enter the market with mortgage products that will help them buy with low down payments. That should continue the momentum that the real estate market has built up over the past couple of years, although price increases are likely to slow or level off if interest rates rise.” — Sam Schneiderman, broker/owner, Greater Boston Home Team; president, Massachusetts Association of Buyer Agents

“Prices will continue to rise moderately, which should help some sellers come off the sidelines. That, together with more builders entering the market this year, will help buyers with additional property selection. Our agents are still reporting a strong contingent of buyers, and there is an indication nationally that buyers who have been holding off will get in the market in 2015. We are already seeing a trend of more Millennials, ages 25 to 34, entering the market. These folks have been renting for some time and holding off entering the market, but with rents continuing to rise and more forming families, these buyers will be looking to purchase a home.” — Carol C. Bulman, CEO, Jack Conway Co. Inc.

“I think there are a lot of first-time buyers who want to buy who are frustrated by their inability to find anything. Move-up buyers are faced with the conundrum of, ‘If I put my house on the market, it’s going to sell right way. Then what do I do?’ It can be quite overwhelming, so that has kept a lot of people stuck. So, I think we have to the educate the first-time buyers to be really flexible with closing dates and give the sellers the time to be the move-up buyers that they want to be … As for interest rates, it is likely that we’ll see low rates continue for the foreseeable future. The Fed is backed into a corner because there have been improvements in many sectors, but not in others.” — Amy Tierce, vice president, Wintrust Mortgage

“My sense is that sales will be up a bit over last year, even given the inventory difficulties … I think we’ve seen a couple of years of aggressive value growth [for houses], so I think a lot of sellers who haven’t wanted to sell in the past now are thinking it might be time for them to put their place on the market and capture some of that gain. We’re still restricted because there’s not a lot of for-sale development in the pipeline, but there has been a bit more interest in selling so far. We’ve had a lot more questions from sellers at this time than we had in the previous year or the year before.” — Michael DiMella, managing partner, Charlesgate Realty; 2014 president, Greater Boston Association of Realtors

“The refinance demand is surging, so that’s causing a doubling of volume, especially the closer you get to cities, the higher-balance areas. On the purchase side, it’s spotty. Some markets are better than others. In the urban markets, the demand is there, but the inventory is not. The healthy sign is that it’s not as crazy as last spring where you were having multiple bids. That pent-up demand has blown off steam. It has now calmed down enough that it’s a rational market. I still think there’s more buyers than sellers, but the buyers aren’t chasing as irrationally as they were, which is a good sign. In some cases, the sellers are pricing too high, and so you’re seeing not every home is being snapped up. Buyers are able to recognize when someone is being greedy.” — Brian Koss, executive vice president, Mortgage Networks

“In Hampden County and areas of west of Worcester, [the housing market hasn’t] recovered like it has in Boston and in the eastern part of the state, but we’re finally seeing some of the existing inventory starting to sell and some of the new stuff moving pretty quickly, as well. We’ve had new listings come in that have gone under contract with multiple offers in seven to 10 days. There’s usually pretty little inventory from around mid-November to mid-January; it’s usually very, very quiet, and it hasn’t been. The phones have been ringing and contracts have been flying. So, that’s really encouraging going into 2015. That’s telling me that there’s some additional consumer confidence in the market.” — Kevin Sears, co-broker/owner, Sears Real Estate

“One market segment that we’re seeing significant growth in at Hammond is the million-dollar condo market in Brookline and Newton, and that market is beginning in Wellesley. In Newton, in 2014, the number of million-dollar condo sales was more than twice the number in 2013. In Brookline, which has had $1 million dollar condo sales for several years, we’ve seen a real dramatic increase in $1 million and $2 million condo sales. In Brookline and Newton, we’re seeing, in many cases, large Victorians being converted into multiple units, and then those selling for over $1 million. It’s really a remarkable thing, and I think we’re going to see this trend continue. The Belclare in Wellesley is going to have condo units starting at, I believe, $1.3 million, so that’s a new product type for that market to address luxury homebuyers.” — Mark Lippolt, senior vice president, Hammond Real Estate

“A lot of this year is going to depend on if things pick up this spring, and if people that have been thinking about selling actually enter the market. Pending sales for January are down some over last year, [according to MAR’s Future Indicator’s Report] … From all indications, I think that the weather was definitely a factor in January. It could very well be a factor February if things keep up. Usually what that means is that people are waiting for the spring market … We’re seeing that in our area; people are talking about putting their house up for sale in the spring.” — Corinne Fitzgerald, president, Massachusetts Association of Realtors; broker/owner, Fitzgerald Real Estate in Greenfield

“I think it’s going to be a great year. It’s a great time for sellers to sell because inventory is low, and it’s a great time for buyers to buy because the interest rates are so low. The market is strong. Still, we’re starting out with very low inventory. I think we are going to see more inventories coming on this year. How much more? I don’t know, but we’ll definitely have more than we’ve had in the last couple of months.” — Gail Roberts, agent, Coldwell Banker Real Estate

Compiled by Anna Sims, Banker & Tradesman Staff