The Sun Belt is projected to conquer the housing market in the United States this 2022. Topping the new list of Zillow of this year’s hottest real estate markets is Tampa, Florida with Jacksonville, Charlotte, San Antonio, and Raleigh following close behind.
This year’s homebuyers seem to be more attracted to the Sun Belt’s housing markets that boast relative affordability, quickly growing economies, and pleasant weather that lets them spend time outdoors throughout the year.
In Tampa, FL, the value of an average home has increased almost 30% in the past year to $354,100, based on Zillow’s data. The real estate authority expects the explosive growth in Tampa to continue in 2022 and is expecting an increase in home values to up 24.6% throughout the year.
Tampa has also made it to the ranking of Realtor.com of this year’s hottest housing markets. The difference is that their list also included many other cities across the Mountain West such as Boise, Spokane, and Salt Lake City.
All over the country, and specifically in the Sun Belt, baby boomers will fuel this growth as they search for houses in top destinations for retirement. This is also combined with the millennials’ strong interest, with millions of them now reaching the peak age for home buying.
Similar pandemic trends that were observed last year, such as moves away from the big coastal cities and remote work will continue to be in play. Zillow foresees that the national home values will grow in 2022 at 14.3%.
Hottest Housing Markets in 2022
According to Zillow, the following cities are the 10 hottest markets for buying houses this 2022:
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- Tampa, Florida
- Jacksonville, Florida
- Raleigh, North Carolina
- San Antonio, Texas
- Charlotte, North Carolina
- Nashville, Tennessee
- Atlanta, Georgia
- Phoenix, Arizona
- Orlando, Florida
- Austin, Texas
Zillow also claims that these 10 markets will enjoy strong growth in home value this year, as well as fast-moving inventory, a large pool of potential home buyers, and high job growth. The site has also noted that these cities included in the list are not particularly sensitive to stock market dips or increased mortgage rates. These two events can both likely depress the real estate industry in the next few months.
What Should Homebuyers Expect This 2022?
2021 saw soaring home prices because of the high surge in demand throughout the pandemic, with the low mortgage rates further driving frenzy all over the country. More of the same can be expected by homebuyers this 2022.
Sellers will take the driver’s seat across the board, but more so in the hottest housing markets. Buyers must brace themselves for strong competition for houses, which means homes will be out of the market just days following their listing and more bidding wars.
However, there are several indicators that the market will start to stabilize soon. Zillow expects San Jose, Chicago, San Francisco, Milwaukee, and New York as 2022’s coolest housing markets due to their comparatively low growth in jobs and demographics that will less likely support a huge buying wave this year.