(Newswire.net — May 13, 2022) —
The rampant sales have pushed housing prices to unprecedented heights. Rising prices are also expected in new construction homes.
What’s happened?
According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), the average home sale price in the US was $346,900 in 2021, 16.9% higher than in 2020, the highest since 1999. Home sales peaked since 2006 with 6.12 million homes sold, an 8.5 per cent increase over the previous year.
The housing market has shown impressive results last year, when both sales and prices rose. By the end of 2021, there were fewer homes for sale than ever. There were only 910 objects on the market at the end of December», said Lawrence Yun, chief economist at NAR.
The experts expect the total annual housing sales to decline slightly in 2022 as mortgage rates rise. But he added that employment growth and sustained demand are strong signs that the market is not in danger of collapsing.
I expect house prices to rise moderately by 3-5% in 2022 and then similarly in 2023 when more offers are on the market. Including, thanks to the new construction, which increased in December».
Sale
Due to a shortage of stocks, sales of existing homes, including single-family homes, townhouses, condominiums and cooperatives, fell by 4.6% in December compared to November and by 7.1% compared to last year.
House sales in the $100,000-$250,000 price range were down 23.2% in December from a year earlier. Meanwhile, according to the report, property deals worth between $750,000 and $1 million increased by 32.2% compared to last year. This trend is due to the lack of more accessible supply.
What conclusions can be drawn?
If you are looking for an apartment for personal use, please clearly define your request. Who will live there: a young family with children, elderly parents, grown children? Only you know your family circumstances and can calculate how they will change.
Experts advise when buying an apartment to think like an investor and regardless of the purpose try to predict what will happen if you have to resell or rent out housing. Life never stands still, and an illiquid apartment in this case can become a useless asset. So when you find a suitable property, if possible, put yourself in the place of a potential tenant or buyer.
Now the real estate has remained, in fact, the only option for a long-term investment. First, its value is only growing over time. Significantly, prices may drop during a protracted economic crisis, which would be similar in scale to the Great Depression in the United States and would be accompanied by the collapse of the banking system, mass unemployment and an increase in the share of bad debts in total loans issued up to 20%.
It is possible to invest in real estate both for profit at the moment and for a stable income. The first option involves selling an apartment at the peak of demand, the second – renting it out.
With any purchase, evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of not only the selected object, but also the surroundings: too high popularity of the area and high rates of construction can eventually reduce the value of your property due to excessive availability of competitive offers.
Something that increases the liquidity of future housing:
- the prospect of building a subway nearby
- the presence of schools
- shops and shopping centers
- street retail
- medical and sports infrastructure
- parks and squares.
Also, liquidity is higher for business class objects or premium housing. This is ensured by a number of factors: individual design and the most advantageous location of the facility, the availability of its own infrastructure facilities and an increased level of comfort and safety.
First of all, you need to determine your budget and decide whether you buy a house with your own funds or plan to take a mortgage.