The housing market has been quite the rollercoaster in 2021! From bidding wars to housing shortages it made last year a top sellers market, but what can we predict for the new year? Historically when mortgage rates were low and paired with inventory shortages it made for a red hot market. No one knows exactly what 2022 has in store, but sources from Forbes say that in 2022, buyers can expect similar trends to the past two years: elevated prices, low inventory and fast turnaround.
Expert from Zillow, Skylar Olsen, states — it won’t be quite as wild as it was last year and it feels that buying a house will be easier than in 2021!
With that in mind, here’s what you need to know if you plan to buy a house in 2022.
Inventory will remain scarce
Even before the pandemic and supply issues, there were a lower than normal stock of housing available. In fact, Forbes states that the number of homes actively listed for sale fell to a record low at the end of November.
“The gap shrunk in 2021 and will likely shrink again in 2022, but the housing shortage will be a defining feature of the market once again next year,” read Zillow’s 2022 housing outlook.
Interest rates will rise
Both Redfin and Realtor.com predict a 30-year-fixed mortgage rate will reach 3.60% by the end of 2022, compared to an average of 3.30% now.
That’s not necessarily bad news for buyers, Olsen says. The “silver lining” of higher mortgage rates, she says, is that fewer buyers will be in the market because there is less money to be made. That could help the average person.
“When you have higher interest rates, it becomes more of the people who buy homes just to live in them,” says Olsen. “That’s something the market will benefit from, coming back down to sanity.”
Buyers should be prepared
When buying a home in 2022, it will be important to be ahead of the game in watching for new listings and be prepared to decide and extend an offer almost immediately. Although that sounds stressful, the realtors at Jonesboro Select Real Estate are ready to do the heavy lifting for you!
