Real estate is an ever-changing sector in which the demand and supply have always been imbalanced. Many evident and underlying changes happened over the last couple of years of the global pandemic. However, in 2022, real estate is again red hot, and the supply is not near to meeting the surging demand for housing. This article will discuss some of the top real estate trends to watch for in the year 2022 and beyond.
Overview of real estate trends
- Home search going digital
Digital transformation is at its peak now, and the searches for real estate online have increased to about 200% over the last few years. The global pandemic of coronavirus also expedited the digitization in various sectors, including real estate deals. As evident, due to the global pandemic and the restrictions which were running over the last couple of years, many homebuyers even purchased their homes without stepping out of their apartments. They are taking virtual tours of the property with the use of technology like 3D virtualization, drone monitoring, virtual staging, etc. A study shows that the search for virtual staging has increased about 450% over the last couple of years. Not just for home searches, but Bernshtam explains thateverything can be done digitally, from getting a mortgage to doing the paperwork.
- People moving out of cities to the outskirts
Another big trend after the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic is the migration of people from big cities to the suburbs. For example, large metros like New York, Washington DC, and San Francisco are rebounding. However, it is still found that the trend of living in the big cities should persist for a few more years. Many of the real estate industry experts also predict that this shirt in the suburbs may remain until 2025 at this rate. There are a couple of reasons for this shift.
- One is a necessity as many people cannot afford big cities more the cost of living and want to move to cheaper suburbs. Those who lost a job due to the pandemic also cannot afford the price of city apartments and try to move on by searching for cheaper housing options.
- Adding to it, suburbs have only minimal taxes and cheaper housing, and rental apartments are available in these places.
- The popularity of the Sun Belt
This is a very special and interesting post-pandemic trend, which we may keep an eye on. As many Americans are now moving out of the big cities, one most important destination they tend to move to is the Sun Belt. We can see that the popularity of Sun Belt destinations has been increasing largely lately, and this trend is expected to remain so for many years in the future. For those who are not aware of it, Sun Belt is the swath region of the United States, which stretches from California to North Carolina by covering about eighteen states southwards in between these destinations.
About 75% of the population of the US, in the past decade, has been concentrating on the Sun Belt states of the United States. Bernshtam also points out thatalong with being the most appealing destination for the retired, this region is now also so attractive to the younger generation of professionals due to lowered taxes and more affordable real estate and rentals.
