Real Estate Reality 2022
Heads up if your thinking Real Estate. Home sales declined 4.6% in December at a lower than expected rate and December sales are down 7.1% versus a year ago and fell in all major regions. The decline was in both single-family homes and condos/co-ops. The other side of that coin is that the median price of an existing home rose 15.8% versus a year ago. Average prices are up 9.6% versus last year. All in all if you own a home, times are optimal. If your looking to buy – this market can be a challenge.
Even though sales ended the year on a weak note, looking at all of 2021 shows a healthy picture. Overall,2021 had the highest calendar-year appreciation level since 2006 and an 8.5% gain over 2020. This is doubly impressive given the current lack of supply in the market. The number of listed, but unsold, existing homes is at an all-time low going back to 1999. Expectation is that listings will move upward in 2022, at least on a seasonally adjusted basis, as virus fears fade in the Spring and sellers feel more comfortable showing their homes. Meanwhile, how long it would take to sell today’s inventory at the current sales pace fell to 1.8 months in December – a record low back to 1999.
Despite the ongoing shortage of listings, there is still significant pent-up demand from the pandemic, with 79% of existing homes sold on the market for less than a month. The combination of strong demand and sparse supply has pushed median prices up 15.8% in the past year. Looking forward to 2022, expect another solid year as more inventory becomes available and price gains moderate. Millennials are now the largest living generation in the US and have begun to enter the housing market in force, making up over 50% of new mortgage issuance in 2021. This represents a demographic tailwind for sales for the foreseeable future.
Please note that we have provided a variety of services for both buyers and seller clients. Getting a pre approved mortgage is a critical step and we can support that process. Also selecting a mortgage broker can be supported. Finally we just supported a seller in Los Angeles and the buyers behaviors were enlightening and how the winner won the process was educational indeed. Happy to share of course. As per usual strategy and tactics matter and picking teammates is always the key to success.