median home prices increased 169 last year hitting an alltime annual high of around 360000 according to data from the national association of realtors the reasons for this rapid ascent are many including pandemic demand low inventory and very low interest rates see the lowest mortgage interest rates you can qualify for here even as pros predict they will rise in 2022 “by and large homes are getting more expensive” says elizabeth renter data analyst at nerdwallet but some markets bucked this trend last year and actually saw price decreases according to recent data from real estate data firm attom which looked at 173 metropolitan statistical areas with a population of 200000 or more the second largest city in mississippi gulfport is home to the mississippi aquarium the port of gulfport and 67 miles of white sand beaches “in gulfport mississippi new listings have been growing for five of the past eight months on a year over year basis adding inventory to the market” explains realtorcom senior economist george ratiu who was looking at january to december 2021 inventory metrics “the median size of homes being listed every month has been declining for nine of the past 12 months leading to a shift in product mix and likely putting downward pressure on prices” known as the center of the whiskey industry in the 19th century peoria is now a trading and shipping center located on the illinois river ratiu says “in peoria illinois the city lost population between 2010 and 2020 and the median size of homes listed every month has been declining for eight of the past 12 months” less than 90 miles from houston beaumont is home to lamar university and exxonmobil corporation “the median size of homes being listed every month has been declining for eight of the past 12 months leading to a shift in product mix and putting downward pressure on prices” says ratiu known for its barbecue jazz heritage and sports teams like the kansas city chiefs kansas city royals and the mls team sporting kansas city kansas city has been called paris of the plains because it has more boulevards than any other city except paris the reason prices are declining according to ratiu is that “new listings have been growing for seven of the past 12 months on a year over year basis adding inventory to the market” “it helps to think of each metro area as their own housing market with unique features populations trends and supply and demand patterns though the majority may be seeing low supply and high demand pushing prices higher that isn’t the case in every local market” says elizabeth renter a data analyst at nerdwallet for this reason buyers can find homes lingering on the market for weeks or months and showing price discounts “in many cases the homes may need remodeling or the price may not match the local market fundamentals” says ratiu what will likely happen to mortgage rates in 2022 many experts say mortgage rates will rise as marketwatch picks wrote here “mortgages rates snapped upward in january as mortgage investors realized what the fed intends to do which is raise interest rates aggressively this year” says holden lewis home and mortgage expert at nerdwallet what will likely happen to home price appreciation in 2022 while the real estate fundamentals in each city may be slightly different many pros say that in general we can expect the price appreciation we saw in 2021 to slow down in 2022 ratiu says real estate markets have been going through a seasonal normalization period over the past few months as a combination of rising inventory and mortgage rate increases are cooling the overheated pace of the first half of 2021 “in many cities across the country homeowners are moving forward with pandemicdelayed plans and listing their homes for sale the influx of new listings is offering buyers more choice and combined with a growing number of smaller homes coming to the market is putting downward pressure on prices” says ratiuthis means we can expect to see home price growth return to normalcy around 5 for all of 2022 predicts lawrence yun chief economist at the national association of realtors what might the 2022 housing market have in store for buyers following in the wake of a year of competitive real estate markets bidding wars contingency waivers and overheated price gains raitu says buyers are seeing signs of normalization in housing “on the supply side more homeowners are ready to move forward with plans be it retirement a new job or a new school district and they’re listing their homes for sale with more options available buyers have found a more approachable landscape” says raitu moreover some markets have seen a larger number of smallersized homes listed changing the inventory mix and skewing prices lower compared with 2020 “the bottom line is that buyers who found the past year frustrating are expected to find more choices in the months ahead and a higher chance of finding the right home” says raitu