The real estate market has been gradually demonstrating that owning a home can be a smart way of creating significant wealth. Since 2011, home prices have been erasing many of the homes that have been under water due to the housing crisis of 2008-9.

According to Fanny Mae, during the first three quarters of 2016, howeowners across the nation saw a cumulative gain $837 billion in total equity.

This positive trend cuts two ways: firstly, homes are becoming more expensive, secondly, as interest rates creep higher from their historic lows, salaries and wages have not kept pace.

This is forcing Millennials to wait longer to make their first home purchase.

Certain states such as Nevada, Missouri and New Jersey are still finding it difficult to work-through all the homes that have negative equity or are in some stage of foreclosure.

Still, this is January, and we are three months from the threshold of the 2017 buying season. A lot could happen, but inventory remains very tight.

But there are still signs of optimism:

A survey released by the Associated General Contractors of America showed that 3 out of 4 U.S. construction firms expect to increase head count this year.

This means that new jobs are going to be created, and wages are expected to increase.