Rates have continued to rise towards the end of 2021, and many market analysts believe that the Federal Reserve will ease back from their bond buying program and install their first rate-hike as early as March of 2022, sooner than their earlier projections of June of that same year. In addition, analysts are forecasting a total of two to three rate hikes in 2022, and another three to four in 2023. Previously, it was widely speculated that the Fed would most likely only increase rates once in 2022.
Despite rising rates, the housing market is showing no signs of slowing down, as housing prices continue to skyrocket. Real estate brokerage firm, Redfin, reported that the median home sales price as of December 12th was up 14% from a year ago, to $359,750. Demand continues to outweigh the supply, with the average home selling above its list price for the 39th consecutive week. However, Redfin did note the possibility that a rate-hike may help swing the market a bit towards homebuyers, forcing home sellers to lower their prices a bit. Overall, the housing market remains extremely strong, with homebuyers still looking to purchase a home while rates remain extremely low!
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By: Jon Iacono