Homebuyers Will Continue to Face Record Supply Shortages in 2022

Redfin, the Seattle-based technology-powered real estate brokerage, in their latest housing market report reveals that the housing market started off the new year with fewer homes for sale than ever before, as active listings fell -27% year-over-year.

The report also notes that the median home-sale price increased 14% year-over-year to $358,460, just shy of an all-time high. The median asking price of newly listed homes increased 12% year-over-year to $341,200. Pending home sales were up 3.5% year-over-year. However, new home listings were down -10% year-over-year. And finally, the share of homes that went under contract and had an accepted offer within the first two weeks of being listed on the market was 40%, above the 35% from the previous year.

In remarks prepared for the release of the report, Daryl Fairweather, Redfin’s Chief Economist said, “We’re kicking off yet another year with a whole lot of buyers whose home search has been ongoing for months, and they are as eager as ever. This month, the stage will be set for the 2022 housing market, and we’ll be closely watching whether prices climb like they usually do in January or whether they start off high and stagnate.”

“We’re also keeping a close eye on new listings,” Fairweather added. “I’ve already been hearing from Redfin agents in extremely supply-constrained markets like Austin that they are getting more interest than usual from homeowners about selling early this year. A lot of these people spent the last couple months getting their homes spruced up and ready to list. This gives me hope that more sellers will be motivated to take action now that the new year has arrived.”