(RightWing.org) – For the last two years, the real estate market has been ideal if you were trying to sell your home, but terrible if you wanted to buy one. Short supply, stiff competition and unexpectedly buoyant prices made finding a home difficult and expensive. Will 2022 be any different?
The short answer is no. Industry experts at Realtor.com have identified several factors that will keep pushing demand up. Many millennials are in the “sweet spot” for buying their first home – up to 45 million of them. Meanwhile, Hispanics are a growing and increasingly affluent market, making up more than 10% of recent homebuyers.
The Property Line: Harsh Vibe Continues for Home Buyers in 2022 https://t.co/rrEGop4xnN vía @Entrepreneur pic.twitter.com/lSVze6i56o
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The fallout from the pandemic is also having an effect. With many people shifting permanently to working from home, they want to sell, move further from the office and buy somewhere more spacious.
The National Association of Home Builders is making similar forecasts, but they think demand will moderate slightly as some potential buyers simply give up. Those who remain in the market are determined, so most sellers will get multiple offers – often with sweeteners thrown in, like waiving inspections.
Rising interest rates will also add to the pressure on buyers. Mortgage rates are still just over the 3% mark, but the Mortgage Bankers Association expects them to hit 4% by the end of this year. That, combined with inflation, will reduce what many buyers can afford to offer.
It’s hard to predict exactly what the housing market will do, but so far, it looks like 2022 is going to be another good year for sellers – and another tough one for would-be homeowners.
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