Annual Home Price Appreciation Grows More Than 18% In December 2021

One of the hottest housing markets in decades was fueled by the increased demand for homes coupled with a low supply of homes for sale. Price appreciation averaged 15% for the full year of 2021, up from the 2020 full-year average of 6%, according to CoreLogic. Home price growth in 2021 started off at 10% in the first quarter, steadily increasing and ending the year with an increase of 18% for the fourth quarter.

The CoreLogic HPI Forecast shows the national 12-month growth steadily slowing over 2022, the opposite of previous end of the year predictions from some industry experts who expect home price appreciation to remain steady throughout the remainder of the year. During the early months of the year, it’s projected to remain above 10% while decelerating each month to a 12-month rise of 3.5% by December 2022, according to the report. Comparing the average projected National HPI for 2022 with the previous year, the CoreLogic HPI Forecast shows the annual average up 9.6% in 2022.

“Much of what we’ve seen in the run-up of home prices over the last year has been the result of a perfect storm of supply and demand pressures,” said Dr. Frank Nothaft, chief economist at CoreLogic. “As we move further into 2022, economic factors – such as new home building and a rise in mortgage rates – are in motion to help relieve some of this pressure and steadily temper the rapid home price acceleration seen in 2021.”