The real estate market over the past two years has been…well, interesting to say the least. COVID-19 threw an already-volatile market for a series of loops, culminating in a 2021 marked by tight inventory and skyrocketing home prices. Of course, the rental market has been affected just as much. While the pandemic was rough on property owners and renters alike, there’s reason to be optimistic going forward. As we ease into the spring of a new year, we have to admit that 2022 has already ushered in some surprises. We are going to take a look at rental property trends for Spring 2022.
Rental Property Trends Spring 2022
Early reports were too conservative
In terms of the overall housing market, predictions at the end of 2021 mostly focused on how things were supposed to level off. Most real estate experts expected that home prices would continue to rise, albeit at a less meteoric rate.
Take Zillow for example. In December, this major real estate marketplace predicted that the rate of home price growth would slow to 11% in 2021. By January they had revised their figures, saying that home values would grow 16.4% by year’s end.
By February, Zillow released yet another report, this time predicting that home value growth would peak at 21.6% in May, and then gradually slow to 17.3% by the end of the year.
Home prices will continue to skyrocket
The upshot of all the above is that real estate values will continue to rise in 2022, and do so at a significant rate. If Zillow’s predictions are to be believed, then home values will not only continue to rise, but growth will accelerate.
Low inventory will remain a fixture of the housing market in 2022. Coupled with high demand, it’s safe to say that it will continue to be a strong seller’s market this year.
Many renters will stay put
Of course, the question still remains, what effect will all of this have on rental properties? That’s a complicated question, and it depends partly on whether or not home prices rise as predicted and whether inventory remains expectedly tight.
The likelihood is that many people who have been looking to buy a home will ultimately find it difficult to do so in 2022. That will most likely translate to more renters staying put as they wait out this tumultuous market. Landlords can expect many renters to become long-term tenants this year.
Demand in cities and suburbs will even out
One of the biggest shifts of the pandemic era was toward the suburbs. As an unprecedented number of people were forced to work from home, many sought out rental properties with more space and a slower pace, farther from city centers.
That will continue, to some degree. But we’re moving into spring now. Many pandemic restrictions have been lifted, many workers have returned to their in-person jobs, and most urban amenities are once again available. That being the case, we can expect to see an increased demand for rental properties in the city.
Rental rates will rise
Overall, 2022 will be a year in which the rent goes up. As the New York times recently reported, rental markets bounced back remarkably well as 2021 progressed.
Most experts agree that after rents stayed flat early on in the pandemic, they’re bound to continue rising as we move forward. In January of this year, Fortune reported that national rent had hit an all-time high, but that could be just the beginning of a continued spike.
Looking for more information on the future of rental properties in 2022? Contact us today to get more predictions from our team of experts.
