After nearly two years of a booming housing market, most experts are predicting a less historic, but still strong market in 2022. Some of the most notable forecasts include:
Mortgage Rates Rise
In 2020, historically low mortgage rates spurred by recession contributed to an incredible housing boom that continued well into 2021. In 2022, expert projections put the mortgage rate between 3.3 and 4.0%. While these rates are constantly in flux, they still remain historically low. In fact, the average rate on 30-year mortgages fell to 6.3 percent this week from 6.42 percent the previous week, according to Bankrate’s national survey of large lenders.
Home Prices Appreciate & Other Housing Market Predictions for 2022
Years of under-building, combined with a demographic of first-wave millennial buyers entering the market has created what still remains a low housing supply. With too few homes available to meet such high buyer demand, experts’ average forecast for price appreciation in 2022 is 5.1%.
Home Sales Thrive
Despite the possibility of rising home prices, it has become clear that people are continuing to move to meet their changing needs. Additionally, experts predict that buyer demand will be supported by the desire to capitalize on current rates and prices before they climb even higher in the future.
“The housing market may not reach the incredible heights of 2021, but we expect it will be anything but slow next year. Expect the strong seller’s market to persist…and flexible work options to continue to shape housing decisions in new ways in 2022,” predicts Zillow in a recent report.
As a real estate agent for nearly 20 years, I regularly meet with many would-be first-time home-buyers who don’t know where to begin, whether to buy or rent, and if they should worry about interest rates. Buying a house is an arduous task but a lot of the stress can be thwarted – from finding representation to financing to the inspection process – simply by choosing the right realtor.
Source: MetropolisGroup