It's time to show 2021 the door! It has been a doozy for real estate in both the U.S. and in our fair state. Nationally, this past year will end up with the highest level of home sales in 15 years, as well as the highest increase in median home prices over the same period.

Low inventory and high demand with low mortgage rates caused the housing kerfuffle and it's not looking great for buyers in 2022. The hot housing market helped the national economy while the COVID-19 pandemic killed other sectors like restaurants, bars and entertainment venues. We realtors found that people who bought or sold during the past year were often moving because: 1—they were working from home; 2—they were home schooling children at home; 3—they wanted to be closer to family and friends or; 4—all of the above.

We don't have final, local stats just yet, but you can bet this is a record-breaking year for property sales all along the Wasatch Front and in Washington County. The median home price in both areas hovered around 25% over last year's home prices.

I personally had difficulty providing accurate market analysis while looking at sales when the final closing prices were $50,000, $100,000 and even $500,000 over the listed prices. I went back to my old stand-by and paid for appraisals on properties that I was going to list so I could have—and the seller could have—not only accurate and current measurements of the property, but also an independent opinion of value. I witnessed rampant greed from sellers this past year where owners just wanted the most money and didn't give a rat's about who wanted to buy their home.

Heartfelt letters by my buyers to accompany their offers to sellers—with phrases like "We want to buy on the same street as our grandparents so we can take care of them," or "This is the perfect home because we can stop driving and take the bus to work"—didn't fly for the most part. The trend was enough that Our National Association of Realtors advised us this year to warn buyers against writing letters with photos of themselves, their kids and their pets, because sellers might discriminate against the potential purchaser if they saw the family was not of the "right color of skin" to live in their home or neighborhood, or because they might not like kids and pets.

We're hoping 2022 might see a few more housing options and more inventory available for sale, but sadly, some of that inventory might come from foreclosures of those who lost jobs in 2021 or who died of COVID-19 this past year.

The great mortgage interest rates of 2021 will disappear in 2022 as inflation keeps growing, and we're expecting many buyers to fall out of the market because they won't be able to qualify for higher mortgage rates in 2022.

Advice? Buy soon, because prices and mortgage rates will go up in 2022. Good luck!