Market Snacks: December 2022
Financial analysts agree that whatever we’re calling the real estate market period spanning the three-year period from 2020-2022 peaked in June 2022. Here are some stats from the tail end of one of the wildest seller’s markets we may ever see.
SLOWDOWN IN PRICE INCREASES
From October 2021 to October 2022, real estate prices increased by 9.2%.
And from November 2021 to November 2022, they increased by 7.7%.
But these are smaller increases than the ones we saw from October 2020 to October 2021 and November 2020 to November 2021.
So, home values are still going up, but at a slower pace.
This was the 5th consecutive month of decreasing price gains.
TAMPA TOPS CITIES WITH HIGHEST GAINS
The city with the greatest price gains from 2021-2022 was Miami, where home prices rose 18.4%. This was followed by Tampa, which posted an increase of 16.9%. The next best was Atlanta at 12.7%.
INTEREST RATES LEVELING OFF
Although mortgage rates have seen minor ups and downs, they’re definitely down from November 2022’s 7% peak. Inflation seems to have cooled (fingers crossed), encouraging the Fed to ease up on interest rate increases. Currently hovering around 6%, rates may not be as shockingly low as they were in 2020 and 2021, but historically speaking, a pretty reasonable number.
Real estate experts have been saying they expect buyers and sellers to gradually return to the market by springtime, “but recovery will be uneven,” says economist Chen Zhao. Mortgage rates are unlikely to climb higher, but the Fed’s efforts to keep inflation at bay will likely prevent steep declines.
