Agents predict resale home prices to increase 7% and sales volume to rise 6% this year, a Burns Real Estate Agent survey found.

John Burns Real Estate Consulting surveyed 4,000 agents in 462 markets about their sales and volume forecasts for 2022. Agents were surveyed in December and results were published Jan. 22. 

The results show nationwide optimism that the hot housing market will continue, although not at the levels seen in much of 2021, when resale home prices skyrocketed 18%. 

Just 22% of agents surveyed in December described the pace of new listings as “faster” than the same time the previous year.

Agents reported a rising number of multiple-offer listings and all-cash offers, reflecting the low inventory and high demand throughout much of the country. Ninety-two percent of agents surveyed said buyers outnumber sellers.

The survey’s results varied slightly by region and market. 

Optimism about the market was lower in the Northeast, where 72% of survey respondents characterized their sales outlook for the next six months as “good.” That’s the lowest percentage of any region in the U.S. outside Southern California.

Still, market activity is stronger than normal for the winter in the Northeast.

Said an unnamed Boston agent quoted in the survey report: “I get a sense that there are sellers out there who feel like they missed the train in 2021 and are afraid the market will shift for the worst this year. They are putting their homes on the market sooner than normal. The promise of increasing interest rates might be fueling this movement as well.”

The Burns Resale Housing Market Index sits at 75 out of 100. It scored sales activity a 60 out of 100 (50 is considered “normal”); expected sales activity in the next six months scored 85 out of 100; and demand for housing scored a 95 on the 100-point scale (50 is considered balanced supply and demand).