A Peek at the 2022 Real Estate Market
Happy New Year! With the world still in a state we’ve never seen before, many industries--as well as our daily lives-- are changing and adjusting rapidly, and the real estate market is no exception. As with each new year, new trends are predicted, but many of the ones forecasted for 2022 are truly a sign of the times. Keep reading our first blog post of the new year to know exactly what to expect in 2022 as predicted by experts in Real Simple, Cnet, and Realtor.com articles.
→ Pandemic-era stimulus programs are ending: According to an article by Real Simple, the federal government’s announcement of the end of their pandemic support program will directly correlate to an increase in mortgage rates. Edward Mermelstein, a real estate consultant, says rates will increase anywhere from 0.25% to 0.5%, and for homebuyers, that means that while they’ll still be able to buy, they’ll have to settle for less space.
→ Home prices will continue to rise: Related to the previous prediction, the rise in mortgage rates will, of course, subsequently cause home prices to continue to increase, according to Cnet. While not good news for prospective homebuyers per say, current homeowners have the option to “tap into their home equity.” Click this link for what you can do to take advantage.
→ Homebuyers still prefer the suburbs: Though space may be hard to come by at the moment price-wise, it’s no secret: Prospective shoppers still want plenty of space in their space. Still, even though home prices are rising across the board, Realtor.com says that by going to the suburbs, homebuyers can still get “more bang for the buck.”
→ Supply chains are still backed up: If you tried to tackle a construction project during the pandemic, you probably know this one already. Cnet reports that “supply chain disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic [will] continue to delay shipments which impedes new construction.”
→ Foreign investments are back: The prediction of a promising year for sellers continues with this news. Real Simple says that “as flights are added and foreign visa bottlenecks subside, there will be an acceleration of money from abroad flowing into U.S. real estate.” What does this mean? Prices will increase further, making it a gold mine for those wanting to sell their homes.
→ Technology will continue to impact the house hunting process: Here’s a statistic reported by Cnet that you may not have been expecting: “Almost 40% of millennials said they would feel comfortable buying a home online in a recent Zillow study.” Technology has impacted and changed so many aspects of the housing market, from how we browse for available homes to how we attend open houses, and that’s likely to stay the same in 2022.