Real Estate Insights | Economic and Real Estate Trends – January 2022
Compass Contemplations
A few insights brought to you by Compass President Leonard Steinberg
- In 2021, global prime property prices increased 6.9% year over year. U.S. cities Miami and Los Angeles posted the strongest growth rates, at 21.3% and 19.7% respectively. Across North America, prime prices could rise an average 4% in 2022 – San Francisco could see a price growth rate between 4% to 5.9%. (PENTA)
- Austin, Phoenix, Raleigh, Tampa, Jacksonville, Salt Lake City, Atlanta , Nashville, Charlotte, Las Vegas, Riverside CA, Dallas/Fort Worth, Tucson home values appreciated over 25% in 2021, often fueled by people moving from out of state accustomed to much higher pricing. (GROW)
Home improvement website Houzz surveyed 2,891 homeowners for its 2021 Bathroom Trends Study, it found that more than a third of bathroom renovations undertaken in the past year or planned for the next three months include high-tech faucets and toilets with bidets, heated seats or self-cleaning tech. (WSJ)

- Countertops are the most commonly improved feature during kitchen renovations. Engineered quartz remains the most popular material for upgraded kitchen countertops, with 42% of homeowners opting for it. The interest for granite has dropped to 24% from 28% last year. (HOUZZ)
- BlackRock – the world’s largest asset manager, with $10 trillion in assets under management and a huge investor in real estate entities such as Realogy, Douglas Elliman, Zillow, etc – is one of the foremost advocates for ESG – environmental, social, and governance – investing, an approach that shifts management’s focus away from the core business missions of the companies and the highest return for investors toward environmental and social activism.

Mortgage Rates Stay Relatively Flat
Following a month-long rise, mortgage rates effectively stayed flat this week. Recent rate increases have yet to significantly impact purchase demand. We do expect rates to continue to increase but at a more gradual pace.