In 2021, the real estate market strapped in for one wild ride. With available home inventory shrinking at astronomical rates and increasingly desperate buyers throwing ever-larger piles of cash and concessions at sellers, it was a record-breaking year.
All of which raises a big question: What about 2022? Can we expect to see more of the same? And more importantly for homeowners, is 2022 the year to finally sell your home? Or should you continue holding onto your property for a bit longer?
The secret to the right answer to these questions is an efficient yet thorough analysis of your situation, taking into account local and larger market factors, financial circumstances, and practical consequences.
Don’t Expect the Ride to Stay Quite That Wild
According to most real estate professionals, the hallmarks of that chaotic 2021 market will not continue at quite the same fever pitch in 2022. We won’t see a complete turnaround, but rather something more like a slight market correction.
With a bit more supply on hand, and a slightly constrained demand thanks to interest rates inching back up, expect the temperature to cool down significantly, yet still stay warm enough that the dominance of cash offers and fast sales isn’t reversing any time soon.
Refrain From Trying to Play the Market
While it’s good to know the landscape of the local real estate market and larger general trends over time, trying to time your sale to ride the biggest wave might just leave you high and dry. Because interest rates have such a direct effect on how much house a buyer can purchase, even slight changes in the prevailing rates can determine whether you get an offer and for how much.
However, that’s a really uncertain future. Holding out for an even better offer sometimes makes sense, but if you’ve got a market in which you and your real estate agent are reasonably sure you can make a good sale, do it now. Don’t wait, since tomorrow’s rates are far from guaranteed.For example, if your timeshare property investment isn’t working out according to plan, it’s important to learn what best way to get rid of a timeshare is immediately, so you can start investing in other assets as soon as possible.
Check Out the Competition
When you list your home for sale, you’re competing against all the other homes similar to it that are also listed for sale. Given a hot market (or even a warm one), that competition might be stiffer than ever. What makes a market hot is (in part) scarcity of available homes, so if there’s an incoming tidal wave of similar homes flooding your local market, expect prices overall to drop.
Here’s where it’s helpful to enlist the aid of an experienced real estate agent in your area. Realtors have a fuller, more current sense of your local market and can help you decide whether the competition will drive prices down or whether it’s a good time to sell. Consider hiring an NYC Property Management Company to help you handle the process.
Consider Where You’ll Go Next
Finally, investigate your options and make sure you’ll have somewhere to live after you sell your current home.
What’s the local market like for buyers? Do you have somewhere to move? Many sellers find themselves in a predicament when their home sells quickly but they run into roadblocks finding and closing on a new home. Some sellers decide to rent instead, but there too you might find problems. In many markets, rental homes are in short supply. When you can find a suitable home to rent, you might be stunned at the cost, since rents have increased by almost 20% from December 2020 to December 2021 in 50 key markets. Run the numbers and make sure you won’t be paying much more in rent than you were to your mortgage company. Otherwise, you could be in for a serious case of sticker shock.