Housing Market 2022: What Economists Say (not just your agent)

While many economic sectors and individual families experienced ups and downs since the onset of pandemic, housing market has enjoyed tremendous gain from 2019 to 2021. Homeowners nationwide who purchased homes before 2019 or at the beginning of 2019 have accumulated major equity gain within a short amount of time. For homeowners in the Los Angeles County and Orange County, many have seen 20% plus increase of their home value within the recent years. Regardless whether you plan to sell or to buy in 2022, all of us are curious about these two questions. Will this dramatic price ascent continue in this new year? What will the interest rate go, higher or lower?

The supply-demand fundamental points to that home price will continue its rise in 2022. Market data from Realtor.com and California Association of Realtors show home prices increased from November to December; my personal experience is the same. Housing supply shortage is here to stay. Those who have stable income and are tired of renting still want to purchase a home. A good family friend of mine was so irritated by the property management and the landlord that he accelerated his home purchase process. We got in contract around Christmas season and notice to move out of the rental home was shared on the New Year's Eve. In California, the solution is not to have regulations that manipulate the market and suppress prices. Several new Senator Bills lead to another direction, which I would call densify your neighborhood by your own design. These new legislature structures remove roadblocks to add additional living space on your own property, such as Accessory Dwelling Units (ADU), and allow the creation of "new" space, for example, dividing the single lot you own into two. I believe such mechanism makes home ownership more sustainable while you have the choice to expand your family where you are or to generate income by adding living space.

The good news for home buyers is that the rise of the home price, even though still a rise, is likely to be much slower this year, in comparison to the frenzy of the last two years. This gives home buyers some room to prepare their home purchase process and poise themselves before making one of the most important life decisions. Yet, do not drag your feet if you already determine to become a home owner. Every lender friend I have talked with all predicts that the mortgage interest rate is on the rise in 2022. My favorite economist, Lawrence Yun, the chief economist of National Association of Realtors predict the 30-year fixed rate will be around 3.5% by the end of 2022. Redfin chief economist also predicted that the rate will rise to 3.6% towards the end of this new year.

Are you ready to embark on the journey to own a home in 2022? What do you need to prepare? Let's connect and I am here to help you accomplish your home ownership goal.

2022年买卖房屋，大家最关注的两个问题是今年房价会继续飙升吗？有没有房价下走的可能？贷款利率会如何变化？在这里和读者朋友们开门见山地分析一下2022年房市，信息资源都来自经纪学家和贷款业界人士。房价虽不会像2020，2021年一样飞快飙升，可是依旧会稳步上升，保守估计在5%左右。在洛杉矶橙县地区买房的朋友们都知道，这里房价上升速度及上升空间往往超过保守估计。房源供不应求的问题会继续存在，这也是房价能够上升的主要原因。在加州，解决房源紧缺的方法并不是控制市场，而是让加建程序更流畅。新法规甚至让独立屋屋主将一个地块分割为两个，给屋主和房产投资人更多机会来补充新造房源。因为通货膨胀，贷款利息也将继续走高。经济学家们都预估在2022年底，30年不变息贷款利率将升到3.5%至3.6%左右。