Well, it’s that time of year again. As the year comes to a close, it’s time to look ahead to what will happen in real estate next year. More specifically, it’s time to look at the housing markets that will be the hottest in 2022.
According to a new forecast from Realtor.com, the top 10 housing markets for next year are concentrated in the West, Midwest, and East regions of the U.S., with the middle of the country coming up empty.
Interestingly, next year’s top 10 list is vastly different from the project hottest housing markets from this year. Around this time last year, Realtor.com published a list of the top housing markets for 2021.
However, only two of the cities that made the list for 2021 are also on it for 2022, signaling that there’s a shift underway in how real estate is performing nationwide.
Most notably, the 2021 list featured four cities from California, while the Golden State is completely absent on the 2022 list.
According to Realtor.com, the housing markets that made the list for 2022 are “expected to see the strongest combined growth in home sales and listing prices among the 100 largest U.S. metros.”
Beyond that, home sales in the projected top 10 are expected to grow by 11.6% year-over-year in 2022, nearly twice as much as the projected national home sales growth of 6.6%.
Now, without further bluster, here are the top 10 housing markets for 2022, courtesy of Realtor.com:
- Salt Lake City, Utah
- Boise, Idaho
- Spokane, Washington
- Indianapolis, Indiana
- Columbus, Ohio
- Providence, Rhode Island
- Greenville, South Carolina
- Seattle, Washington
- Worcester, Massachusetts
- Tampa, Florida
Of those 10, only Boise and Seattle were on the 2021 version of the list.
As for why those 10 markets made the 2022 list, Realtor.com Chief Economist Danielle Hale said there are some common themes among the 10 cities.
"This year's list spans a variety of geographic hotspots, reflecting how pandemic trends like the rise in remote work are enabling many homebuyers to explore new areas where their budgets stretch further. The top 10 markets share a number of commonalities that are driving demand from millennial remote workers to retirees alike, including those from major coastal metros," Hale said.
“With thriving local economies, low unemployment rates, convenient access to the outdoors and relatively affordable housing, many of the top markets offer the best of both small town quality of life and big city job security,” Hale continued.
“Home shoppers in these areas may still be able to find good value even as listing prices are expected to climb in 2022, but getting a leg up on the competition will be key,” Hale concluded. “For buyers with more flexible timelines – such as those making a move from a big city – offering a couple extra months on the closing date could sweeten the deal for sellers who also need to buy their next home."