(and a bizarro 2020 before that). Congratulations! Historically, the new year brings new real estate opportunities, new outlooks & new inventory. It kicks off the new cycle of accounting for buyers & sellers, builders & firms, brokers & financiers. 2021 was a year unlike any other we’ve seen—a perfect storm of never-before-seen manic demand, never-before-seen anemic supply, record-low cost of funds, & record-high cost of almost everything else—all due in large part to a once-in-a-century pandemic & humanity’s sometimes-heroic, sometimes-hysteric reactions to it. Many of you have asked what to expect after the aftermath of such a once-in-a-lifetime storm.
I bet that by the second quarter of 2022, despite the distorted incentives of the media machine, for the vast majority of us COVID -19 will be in the rear-view mirror… & absent some unpredictable catastrophe, the economy will be humming along. The Fed has already indicated that it plans to raise interest rates several times in 2022. Expect rising cost of funds to dampen runaway home prices that dominated the headlines this past year. While that doesn’t mean a surge of new supply will materialize to soak up years of pent-up demand, the 20+% year-over-year gains in housing prices will slow to more sustainable historical rates. That makes the first quarter of 2021 a sweet-spot time to buy before cost of funds makes homes out of reach. It also makes early 2021 an opportune time to sell, before the effects of rising rates cool this super-heated seller’s market.
In the spirit of new beginnings, I challenge you to try something new for 2022. If you’re hoping to buy, ask me about our direct marketing campaigns to engage sellers before they put their homes on the market & avoid the ravenous feeding frenzies that vexed the market in 2021. When you are ready to sell, ask me about partnering with one of our property renovations teams to get the most out of your next sale. It might be as small as touch up paint & landscaping or as large as replacing an old roof, new electrical & mechanical, & touching every surface to give your home the WOW factor that will drive buyers to pay top dollar. The costs can be rolled into the proceeds of your sale.
Let’s connect in the next couple weeks. Here is a link to some spots when I am available for a call: Schedule Here
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