September 2022 Market Report

Are you curious about what’s actually happening in the South Jersey Shore real estate market? In this video, I’m going to tell you all about the September 2022 real estate market here at the South Jersey Shore. We’ll talk about everything from inventory to home prices so you can best plan for your future.

Rising Prices

The last time you heard from me, we were seeing a little bit of a slowdown in the market. I can tell you that this was only temporary, as things have picked right back up. We’re seeing a lot of multiple offer situations again.

Additionally, prices have increased in 2022. In fact, they’ve already beaten all the expert opinions for appreciation. In 2022, we will see fewer properties sell this year than last year. Of course, last year was an extreme market, so this makes sense.

Interest Rates And Inventory

We’ve been seeing a lot of conflicting information on interest rates. However, I think we’re probably going to see them stabilize a little bit. They’re probably going to remain relatively the same throughout 2023.

Another thing I’ve seen recently is that a lot of buyers were waiting until after the summer to purchase a home. This is because they expected more properties to come onto the market. However, that simply hasn’t happened yet. Inventory has remained very low. Because of that low inventory, it remains a seller’s market.

Analyzing The Predictions

Let’s jump into some quick data points to see what’s really going on in today’s real estate market. As we approach the end of the year, we’re starting to get a look at what the real estate market might finish with.

At the beginning of the year, a lot of the leading experts had a prediction of how much home prices were going to appreciate. They were very low on that prediction, and they all came out and changed their models or their forecasts for appreciation. It’s a lot higher than everybody expected for this year, and we have certainly seen increases in home prices.

That being said, they have not appreciated as quickly as they did last year. A lot of people—and even the media—have misconstrued that to mean that homes are depreciating. However, they are not depreciating; instead, the appreciation has just slowed. While they’re not increasing as quickly or at the same rate, that doesn’t mean that homes are losing value. In fact, they are still gaining in value.

Mortgage Rates

When it comes to mortgage rates, overall averages from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are not necessarily going to stay the same. A lot of the leading economists’ projections are that there’s not going to be a whole lot of variability over the next year and a half or so.

We’re seeing a lot of things hover in that 5 to 6% range. Another way to look at that is that mortgage interest rates are very unpredictable right now. If the leading economists are correct, then it’s a safe time to jump back into the market as a buyer. This is because you know that there are not going to be any major changes over the next year and a half or so.

A Seller’s Market

While housing inventory has increased a bit, it’s still very low historically. It’s still a seller’s market, though we might get closer to that balanced or neutral market where things are even for buyers and sellers. However, our market is still currently a seller’s market.

Inventory has increased a bit, although one of the concerns was that it was going to increase significantly after the summer. We’re in mid-September, though, and we’re still not seeing that. The latest home price insight report from CoreLogic says annual home price growth has lowered for the third consecutive month in July—but remained elevated.

This means that prices are still increasing as 30-year fixed mortgages neared 6%. This summer, some prospective homebuyers held back or took a break from the market, and they helped ease that overheated and unsustainable price growth. We’re not seeing that exponential increase anymore.

Looking To The Future

Looking ahead, CoreLogic expects to see a more balanced housing market with year-over-year appreciation slowing to 3.8% by next year. Again, they’re still expecting prices to increase. However, it just won’t be at as crazy of a rate any longer. But what does this all actually mean for you?

If you’re a buyer and you’ve been waiting for more properties to come onto the market or for prices to decrease, it’s just simply not going to happen—at least not in the short term. If you’re thinking about buying a house, now’s a great time to do so.

If you’re a homeowner and you’re thinking about selling, then now’s the time to price your home right. While prices are still increasing, they’re going to increase at a normal rate. We are no longer seeing the exponential price increases we’ve seen in the last two years. Still, it’s a great time to sell, though I wouldn’t keep waiting for prices to increase further.

The South Jersey Shore Market

I hope this gave you a good idea of exactly what I’m seeing in today’s real estate market here at the South Jersey Shore in September of 2022. If you have any questions about the Jersey Shore real estate market, please feel free to reach out to me and I’ll be happy to connect with you.

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