For months, I, along with many prominent housing market analysts, have been forecasting a big shift in the housing market at some point in 2022.
For most of the last two years, we’ve been in an unbalanced housing market that strongly favors sellers. Bidding wars, offers over asking, and waived contingencies have become the norm. But as interest rates rise, affordability declines, and fears of a recession loom, buyers are gaining back some power in the housing market.
As the dynamics of the market change, appreciation rates should cool dramatically and become flat or even negative. But real estate is local, and I believe the most likely scenario over the coming months is that some markets will decline while others will continue to grow, albeit at a far more modest pace than over the last several years.
The question then becomes, which markets are at risk of decline, and which will see prices stay steady or even grow? In this article, I will explore data to determine the short-term strength of individual housing markets in the U.S. to help you identify opportunities and make informed investing decisions.
Below you’ll find a complete analysis and a downloadable city-level spreadsheet.