What will home buyers face in 2022?

This year’s housing marketing has been nothing short of historic. Buyers faced relentless price increases, fierce bidding wars, and intense demand that kept the market temperature somewhere north of boiling. But, as we gather around the Thanksgiving table, what can buyers expect in 2022?

Data suggests that the housing market has started to cool off in certain regions. While it doesn’t indicate a complete 180º flip into a buyer’s market, there are strong signs of the markets continuing to balance out.

👉 Slower price increases — In April, active listing prices were up 17.2% compared to the year before. In October that fell to 8.6%. According to CoreLogic, that could slow to 2% by September 2022.

👉 Fewer bidding wars — Earlier this year, three in four buyers faced bidding wars. In October, that fell to just 59%. Although that’s still higher than pre-pandemic numbers, it’s low for 2021 and points to fewer people competing for homes.

👉 Longer times on market — According to C.A.R.’s latest report, the median number of days it took to sell a California home inched up to 11 days in October, up from 10 days in September. The uptick was the first in more than two years.