Either way, buyer demand is likely to cool and buyers will have to be more conservative in the bids they’re putting on homes. As rates rise, more buyers may begin to bow out of the market or curtail their home purchase price as they grapple with higher monthly costs. As of February 2022, rates hit 3.69%, almost 100 basis points higher than the 2.65% rate seen in January 2021. Late December 2021 saw mortgage rates at 3.05% and starting to climb.
Mortgage rates are expected to continue rising.But there are some ongoing shifts and potential changes in the market that are worthy of noting. With seemingly unlimited sustained demand and very little inventory of homes available for sale this year, stemming in part from a decade-long shortage of new construction, sellers’ positions seem to continue improving. Market Dynamics Shift – You won’t find a more receptive market For instance, by early May in 2021, the number of homes with a reduced listing price climbed by 17.8% from the start of the year, while prices were up 12.0% over the start of the year. Notably, price reductions increase as listing prices increase later in the year. Due to overall inventory scarcity, this week saw 12.9% fewer sellers on the market than the 2021 average, and 20.4% fewer than the first week of the year.įewer price reductions – A typical trend would mean 13.8% fewer price reductions during this week compared to the average week throughout the year. Lower competition from other sellers – A typical inventory trend would mean 6.2% fewer sellers on the market during this week compared to the average week throughout the year. In the fast-moving 2021 market, this week saw homes typically on the market for 40 days, 6 days faster than the year’s average, and 27 days faster than was typical in 2019. Historically, homes actively for sale during this week sold 13.2% faster than the average week. This week in 2021 got 29.0% more views per listing than the average week throughout the year.įast market pace – Thanks to above average demand, homes sell more quickly during this week. The more buyers looking at a home, the better for the seller. If 2022 follows the typical seasonal trend, the national median listing price could reach $5,000 above the average week, and $39,000 more than the start of the year.Ībove average buyer demand – The number of buyers looking at a listing can determine how many offers a home gets and how quickly it sells. Getting a head start in front of other sellers may pay off 2022.Īt a national level, this week represents a balanced selection of market conditions that favor sellers.Ībove average prices – Homes during this week have historically reached prices 1.4% higher than the average week throughout the year, and are typically 10.3% higher than the start of the year. However, some emerging trends hint at a possible shift in this dynamic, where sellers could potentially lose some leverage as demand from buyers cools slightly in response to rising mortgage rates, and supply increases as builders continue to accelerate production. With the inventory shortage, it has certainly been a seller’s market so far this year. Despite these extremes, when looking at the pattern each metric followed, 2021 tended to align with pre-pandemic years. Rankings for each week were based on these Best Time to List scores.Ģ021 was a historic year in housing, with record high prices and record low inventory nationwide. Percentile levels for each week were calculated along each metric, and were then averaged together across metrics to determine a Best Time to List score for each week. Each week was scored based on favorability toward sellers - this included competition from other sellers (active listings and new listings), listing prices, market pace (days on market), likelihood of price reductions, and homebuyer demand (views per property on ). We expect the 2022 housing market to behave similarly to 2021 and pre-pandemic years. Due to the onset of the pandemic, 2020 was an uncharacteristic year and has therefore been excluded from the analysis. This selection comes from looking at seasonal trends from 2018-20 data. The week of April 10-16 is expected to have the ideal balance of housing market conditions that favor home sellers, more so than any other week in the year. Home sellers on the fence waiting for that perfect moment to sell should start preparations, because the best time to list a home in 2022 is approaching quickly.