April 2022 San Antonio Housing Market Update | What You Need To Know?
In this edition of the San Antonio Housing Market Report, we will start out by reviewing two key market indicators (seller traffic and buyer traffic) to give us an idea of what to expect moving forward in the 2022 housing market. Currently, we are one quarter into the market and have some solid data ahead of the historically busiest time of the year.
Second, we will hear from one industry expert on what to expect from interest rates for the rest of the year and beyond.
After reviewing interest rates we will check on distressed sales and what impact they may have on the housing market in 2022.
And finally, in the end, we will look at some local San Antonio Housing data that will focus on how home buyers are being most successful in purchasing homes in this seller’s market.
Home Seller Traffic
As you can see here, home seller traffic is still super low overall across the nation. Some areas are lower than others. For us here in the Texas housing market seller traffic is categorized as weak. We have in the last couple of months seen a slight uptick in traffic but still well below needed levels to meet current demand.
San Antonio Home Seller Traffic
Here in San Antonio so far in 2022 seller traffic which is expressed in the new listings above is up just under 4% compared to 2021. This is a small improvement but still well under 2020 and pre-pandemic levels.
Home Buyer Traffic
Nationally overall buyer traffic is categorized as strong in most areas. We see a few areas categorized as Stable which I’m sure is a welcome sight for some markets.
San Antonio Buyer Demand
Locally here in San Antonio we will continue to use months’ worth of inventory to track buyer strength. And buyer strength is continuing to put downward pressure on inventory levels even as more sellers are bringing more homes to the market.
Mortgage Rate Prediction In 2022
Director of Forecasting with the National Association of Realtors Nadia Evangelou really delivered a good news bad-news scenario in the quote above. Right now we are expecting more Fed rate hikes that can send rates higher in the long term.
In the short term, Nadia is expecting rates to possibly climb slower than we have seen in the past month.
Foreclosed Home Outlook 2022
According to the National Association Of Realtors, foreclosure and short sales will not have an immediate impact on this year’s market. As you will note from the above screenshot distressed sales have plummeted to less than 1%.
And really the driving force here is the positive equity homeowners have. Right now just about anyone owning a home in distress can sell it without going through a short sale process. And short sales would be the first wave ahead of any meaningful foreclosure inventory.
San Antonio Home Sales And Methods
| Year | Total Sales | Conventional | FHA | Cash | VA | Others |
| 2018 | 20,555 | 9,468 | 5,215 | 3,624 | 4,539 | 1,022 |
| 2019 | 21,887 | 10,016 | 5,664 | 3,590 | 5,172 | 1,034 |
| 2020 | 23,987 | 10,722 | 7,088 | 3,353 | 5,737 | 1,198 |
| 2021 | 25,261 | 12,294 | 5,409 | 5,409 | 5,062 | 5,409 |
| 1st Q 22 | 5,144 | 2,638 | 898 | 1,336 | 996 | 187 |
As you can see in the above table conventional loans and cash made a surge in 2021. And so far as of the 3rd quarter in 2022 are both home purchase methods gaining market share from FHA and Conventional Loans City-wide.
At the Bexar County level, the numbers are nearly identical since San Antonio is the largest city in Bexar County.
San Antonio Home Purchases And Methods By Percentages
| Year | Total Sales | Conventional | FHA | Cash | VA | Others |
| 2018 | 20,555 | 39.67% | 21.85% | 15.18% | 19.02% | 4.28% |
| 2019 | 21,887 | 39.32% | 22.23% | 14.09% | 20.30% | 4.06% |
| 2020 | 23,987 | 38.16% | 25.23% | 11.93% | 20.42% | 4.26% |
| 2021 | 25,261 | 41.54% | 18.27% | 19.87% | 17.10% | 3.22% |
| 1st Q 22 | 5,144 | 43.57% | 14.83% | 22.06% | 16.45% | 3.09% |
Here again, you can track the changes year to year and get a sense of what you might expect depending on your purchase options. Keep in mind these numbers do change depending on the neighborhood you might be considering making a move in. Some neighborhoods have higher and lower cash or conventional percentages than others.
Bottom Line
The San Antonio market as a whole has demonstrated strong buyer demand over the last 4 plus years. Experts expect demand to remain strong through 2022. If you’re thinking about a move and would like to see how your purchasing method fits with an area contact me for a free consultation.