Evictions Are Going to Go Up

• Author: Kelly Cooke
• Posted: 2024-05-07

The Housing Market Was Really Weird in 2021, What About 2022?

Largely due to the COVID-19 lockdowns, the housing market acted in many unexpected and trend-defying ways. Despite severe economic downturn and movement restrictions, housing prices increased and people moved around a lot.

Although coronavirus is progressively coming under control, it's effects are probably going to be seen in 2022 to some extent, with some features of the housing market staying the same and others shifting.

Here are some major 2022 housing market projections.

Evictions Are Going to Go Up

With countless workers losing their jobs during the pandemic, an eviction moratorium was put in place to prevent mass-evictions from taking place. Renters who were unable to pay their rent were legally shielded from being evicted for a time.

However, with the federal eviction moratorium running its course and state eviction moratoriums starting to go by the wayside, landlords are now going to be able to evict tenants which can't keep up with their rental obligations. Unsurprisingly, the trend of moratoriums being lifted has also coincided with an increase in the number of renters being subject to legal proceedings.

From a renting perspective, this means that many more units are bound to be open in 2022. However, there's likely to be a similar trend in the number of houses being available for purchase as well.

The moratoriums have left many landlords with a sense that the renting business isn't for them given the high degree of liability they faced. They're likely to sell their rental units and get out of the business altogether. While some of these are going to be rental complexes, some are bound to be entire standalone homes, which is going to increase the amount of inventory available to everyday buyers.

New Construction Is Planned, But Might Not Get Underway

The demand for housing is incredibly high and construction companies are incredibly eager to get to work. Most developers are looking to undertake substantial levels of construction, but the reality of resource availability might compromise those plans.

The global supply chain is in absolute turmoil at the moment and getting all the necessary construction equipment and materials for housing development is likely to be a challenge for a great many companies. In addition, the ongoing labor shortage is making it difficult to find enough employees to get work done. Even if construction outfits manage to get their hands on all the needed materials, the rate of construction is likely to be lower than in previous years.

Interest Rates Are Going to Increase

In order to deal with the effects of the coronavirus pandemic, the government spent a tremendous amount of money to keep the economy afloat. The result of this has been high levels of inflation that haven't been seen for decades.

Low-Cost Housing Is Still Going to Be Limited, But Less So

2022 is definitely still going to be a year for sellers as choice in housing is still going to be relatively sparse. That being said, the current housing market is healthy enough where sellers are satisfied with selling their properties at a decent price and there isn't going to be any expected fluctuations in home value, making it a very stable situation for selling homes.

This is ultimately going to increase the number of houses available on the market, although selection is still going to be pretty limited all things considered.

Bracing Yourself

Homes are probably the biggest assets individuals and families will invest their money into. Housing is a fairly stable investment with lots of potential for appreciation, making them a very hot commodity.

However, while having access to a home can do wonders for someone's finances, getting a good home at a decent price is going to be a bit of a challenge for the upcoming year. It's probably going to be a prime year for sellers, but buyers are going to be facing an uphill battle, albeit one that's slightly less steep than last year.