2022 Annual Market Report

Senné presents its 2022 Annual Market Report. As your trusted real estate advisory firm resource, this comprehensive report includes a retrospective of the unique attributes of the urban and suburban neighborhoods within Boston and the Greater Boston area; Cambridge, Somerville, Arlington, and surrounding towns.

2022 presented a fluctuating year for real estate in Massachusetts. To start, year-over-year price appreciation was at 19.2%, the highest rate to start a year in recorded history according to the US House Price Index. Bidding wars were at record highs, up to 70% of transactions in some markets, and 30% of buyers were cash buyers. The robust real estate market continued at a fast pace due to our strong economy, high rate of growth, higher wages, higher employment and higher spending allowing the housing market to continue to skyrocket during the 1st half of 2022.

During the second half of 2022, interest rates rose at an unprecedented clip from 3% to 6% in one year, additionally we experienced a volatile stock market, rising inflation and supply chain issues which all contributed to a slow down in the market. The Freddie Mac 30 year fixed rate closed out 2022 at 6.42% in stark contrast to January 2022 where rates were at 3.2%. This led to decreased affordability and poor consumer sentiment. As a result demand began to wane and supply increased leading to a shift in our market. While the significant mortgage rate increases have altered Buyers’ desire to buy and Sellers have chosen to remain in their homes as it is unclear where they would go next, we continue to observe strong trends across most market segments.

We want to help you make informed decisions. Don’t see your community featured in this report or are you looking for information on another type of property? Contact a Senné associate to learn more about what is going on in your local market. Our experts are here to assist with all your real estate needs.