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Economists Find Millennials Will Drive Housing Market in ’22

Realtor.com’s 2022 Housing Forecast [1] has concluded that U.S. home buyers will have a better chance to find the home of their dreams in 2022, but will face a competitive seller's market, as first-time buyer demand will continue to outpace the nation’s recovering inventory.

Authored by Danielle Hale, George Ratiu, Sabrina Speianu, Jiayi Xu, and Hannah Jones, Realtor.com predicts that with listing prices, rent and mortgage rates all expected to climb, 2022 will offer a mixed bag of both affordability challenges and opportunities.

"Whether the pandemic delayed plans or created new opportunities to make a move, Americans are poised for a whirlwind year of home buying in 2022,” said Realtor.com Chief Economist Danielle Hale [2]. “With more sellers expected to enter the market as buyer competition remains fierce, we anticipate strong home sales growth at a more sustainable pace than in 2021. Affordability will increasingly be a challenge, as interest rates and prices rise, but remote work may expand search areas and enable younger buyers to find their first homes sooner than they might have otherwise. And with more than 45 million millennials within the prime first-time buying ages of 26-35 heading into 2022, we expect the market to remain competitive."

According to the 2022 Housing Forecast, home sales will hit their highest level in 16 years (+6.6% year-over-year), as buyers remain active, and for-sale inventory continues to recover from the short supply found in the current market.

It is also predicted that buyers will face a competitive seller's market, with record-high listing prices, fast-paced sales, and limited for-sale home options, as existing-home listings continue to lag behind pre-COVID levels. The new construction supply gap of 5.2 million new homes may shrink somewhat in 2022, as home builders continue to recover their production with a projected increase of 5% year-over-year.

Of note, Realtor.com predicts some major highlights for the coming year:

"Our Housing Forecast suggests that we're in store for another dynamic year of activity, but 2022 will also come with growing pains as we navigate the path forward from the height of the pandemic toward a new normal," said George Ratiu, Manager of Economic Research for Realtor.com.