Important Real Estate Trends for Home Sellers in 2022

The housing market has been hot for the past several years. Those looking to buy a home have been having a hard time because of the competition. And those looking to sell their home have been concerned about the ability to find a new home. The market could be changing in the new year with these top real estate trends for 2022.

Increasing Mortgage Rates

With inflation climbing, the Federal Reserve is expected to raise interest several times in 2022. In addition, they have announced that they will taper mortgage-backed securities.

Both of these factors could cause mortgage rates to rise through 2022. Even though rates will increase, they will still be at low levels.

Several economic groups, including the Mortgage Bankers Association, believe that mortgage rates will rise throughout 2022. Rates should average 3.1% during the first quarter of the year, climbing to 4% by the end of the year. This could cool the bidding wars, but sellers will still see record numbers of potential home buyers.

Home Price Trends

The Mortgage Bankers Association expects the median price of homes to see a year-over-year gain of 15.3% during the first three months of 2022. As the year progresses, they see the median price of existing homes dropping 2.5% year-over-year at the end of 2022. Homeowners interested in selling next year can still expect to see above-value home prices through 2022.

Home Inventory Trends

The low inventory of homes is one reason home prices have continued to increase at record levels. Inventory is not expected to increase dramatically, but more homes should be on the market than in the past several years.

Homebuilders are still trying to catch up to the demand for housing, which will help. It is possible foreclosures could increase in 2022, which will increase the number of available homes.

Another reason for low inventory was that sellers were reluctant to sell because they were concerned they would not be able to find a new home before closing.

Home Seller Trends

The pandemic stopped many would-be sellers from putting their homes on the market. As the pandemic wanes in 2022, more sellers will list their homes, which will further increase inventory. Even with higher mortgage rates and more homes on the market, it will still be a seller’s market. There will still be more buyers than available homes, which will keep prices level near these record prices.

Up to 42% of sellers will ask for prices above what they believe their home is worth. With that said, 77% of the sellers surveyed said they would accept a lower offer to close quickly. Nearly all sellers said they are taking steps to list their home, including working with an agent.

If you’re interested in selling your home in 2022, now is the time to research what your home is worth and find an agent. You can call Lauren Michaels Real Estate Partners to help with everything needed to sell your home.