Buying a home has been a part of the American dream since the 1950s, and it continues seventy years later. Everyone wants a property that they can call their own and allows them to have space for themselves and their loved ones, especially since the pandemic’s beginning.
Some have been nervous about buying a home since the market is so unpredictable: but this is your sign you should buy a house in 2022.
Lower Mortgage Rates Than We’ve Seen In Years.
Mortgage rates will always vary based on your credit score and the number of times you’ve been in debt or missed a payment. Fortunately, they’re currently lower than ever, which levels the playing field for those who have had a rough past with their credit.
With rates as low as 2.6%, and the average around 4%, there’s a large range that you can get based on your credit history. This is far better than when it hit as high as 16% in the 1980s and makes buying those white and black houses of your dreams far more affordable.
High Loan Acceptance Rates
Loan acceptance rates have been rising for mortgages over the last couple of years, which is expected to continue through 2022. So even if you don’t have a long credit history, or you have other parts of your financial history, that makes it so that you’re unsure if you’d ever get accepted: these acceptance rates show that you have a good chance.
This is awesome since mortgages are one of the most common ways to buy a home since the prices have been rising and to make it even more difficult to buy a house outright in cash.
Fantastic New Home Features Have Become the Norm
Although luxury used to be something you had to fight to find: it’s become far more commonplace in available properties. This means gorgeous vinyl kitchen flooring and beautiful updated windows, siding, and roofing so that you can have the home of your dreams without having to make it happen yourself.
Sellers are motivated to do what they can to get the most out of a property, which means as a buyer, you get more perks out of them. This can be anything from updated gardening and outdoor space to fantastic additions like new storage space and exterior lighting to up your security and increase your home’s curb appeal.
More Availability of Construction Goods
In 2020 and 2021, the construction supply chain had major disruptions due to the pandemic. This made materials extremely expensive and hard to get your hands on, which made construction and house flipping slow to a stop.
Thankfully, this market is expected to recover further in 2022, and we hope to see plenty of positive changes throughout the supply chain. This means less struggle to find window replacement inserts and more focus on getting a home built at a timely pace according to the high standards of the buyers and builders.
The supply chain’s recovery means that you have the freedom to buy a fixer-upper or even to have your own home built so that you can have the property of your dreams instead of just finding what’s on the market.
If You Work From Home, There’s More Space In a House
Although many assumed working from home was just something that would happen in 2020 and then end when pandemic numbers got better: many have come to realize that this change is here to stay. Currently, 58% of the American workforce is working remotely. Although only 41% of this number are fully remote, that means there’s a big call for home offices and welcoming homes.
Saving money from driving to the office every day means that you can instead focus on luxurious updates like a heated shower floor or a smart thermostat. In buying a home, you’re also buying an office for yourself.
Many Have Grown Their Credit Scores During the Pandemic
Before COVID-19 struck the world, many Americans were nervous about their credit scores, but the pandemic changed our priorities. People rushed to buy homes to have a space of their own, realized the importance of spending time with family, and decided to buckle down and pay attention to their finances.
In June 2021, a study of 1,300 American households found that most who got stimulus checks used around 35% to pay down their debt. This helps credit scores rise, with multiple stories of individuals rising from the low 500s to the mid 700s and even higher within the last couple of years. A higher credit score means better loan terms: which can be even more stunning with the low mortgage rates and high acceptance rates we’ve been seeing so far in 2022.
There’s No Time Like Now to Buy a Home
If you’ve been putting off homeownership for a couple of years and aren’t sure when the time will be right for you: it’s now. Invest in a property that you can create a life for yourself in.
Natalie Akins is an editor for the Innovative Building Materials blog and a content writer for the building materials industry. She is focused on helping fellow homeowners, contractors, and architects discover materials and methods of construction that save money, improve energy efficiency, and increase property value.