Dearth of Inventory, Price Hikes Pose Challenges for Shoppers (January 2022 Market Report)

*Home value appreciation accelerated again in January, to a record 19.9% annual gain.

*Inventory plunged below 900,000 listings, a record low – down 42.4% from January 2020.

*Annual rent growth of 15.9% was down slightly from previous peaks, and monthly growth was essentially flat.

Buyers are likely to face another challenging home shopping season later this year, contending with record-low inventory and unprecedented price growth. But if early-bird buyers in the market in the early months of the year were deterred by rising mortgage rates and prices, their absence didn’t register: Home price appreciation accelerated again, likely thanks to the record-low number of listings on offer.

The Zillow Home Value Index (ZHVI) rose 1.5% in January from December, to $325,677, up 19.9% from January 2021. The annual growth rate represents an all-time high in data dating back more than 20 years – and the monthly pace continued its re-acceleration since November’s recent low of 1.2%. If monthly price growth were to hold steady at January’s pace, that would translate to an annual growth rate of 19%, or almost equal to the current year-over-year gain. Jeff Tucker, Zillow.