The 2022 Housing Market Is Heating Up—Could It Outpace the Year Before It?

Though weary and impatient buyers are hoping for a reprieve from record high price gains and waning inventory in the new year, the 2022 real estate market is starting off just as competitive as 2021′s, The Washington Post reports. The average January home sold in just 61 days, 10 days less than in 2021 and 29 days faster than pre-pandemic rates from 2017 to 2020. The number of active listings on the market in January dropped 28.4% year-over-year and fell a staggering 60.4% from January 2020.

As supply steadily drops amid burgeoning demand, the median home listing price in January was up 10.3% year-over-year to $375,000, though price appreciation is expected to slow as interest rates continue to rise.

That imbalance between demand and supply contributes to the rapid increase in prices. The median listing price was up 10.3 percent in January 2022 compared to January 2021 to $375,000, which represents a 25 percent jump over the median listing price in January 2020.

While both buyers and sellers are usually slow to enter the market in January, this year’s sellers appear to be the only ones waiting to get into the housing market, according to Realtor.com’s analysis. Beyond seasonality, other factors that seem to create hesitation among sellers are concerns about potential coronavirus surges and the shortage of homes.

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