2022’s Northern VA Housing Market Forecast

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Last year’s housing market broke eleven major industry records, including lowest mortgage rates, lowest inventory, highest home prices, fastest sales, and more. Basement floor interest rates brought out the buyers in droves, and many sellers found themselves accepting offers thousands over listing price. As we move into the hot season for 2022, many people are wondering if we can expect the same sort of frenzy again. 

The 2022 housing market is expected to stay hot, with high prices and competitive sales. Read on to learn what to expect in the northern VA housing market in the coming year.

Prices Will Continue to Rise

Since the beginning of the pandemic, housing prices have shot through the roof. Several factors account for this; for one thing, historically low-interest rates have increased demand. Rising lumber prices, supply shortages, and labor shortages have also slowed down the rate at which new houses are being built, drastically reducing market inventory.

Although this shortage is starting to ease up some (more on that later), experts predict housing prices will continue to rise. As we’ll discuss more in a moment, an increased demand in northern Virginia will keep listing prices high. Expect to pay a premium price if you plan to buy a house this year.

Interest Rates Will Go Up

Another factor contributing to increasing house prices is rising interest rates. In an effort to keep the economy stimulated, during the pandemic, banks dropped interest rates to just 3 percent. This was an opportunity many investors and first-time homebuyers couldn’t pass up, and so we saw the market boom of 2021. 

In 2022, as the pandemic draws to a close, interest rates are returning to more normal levels. As of this writing, they’re sitting just under 5 percent for a thirty-year loan and just under 4 percent for a fifteen-year loan. This means that, overall, people will be able to get less house for their money.

Housing Demand Will Continue to Grow

In spite of rising house prices, real estate demand is expected to continue to grow as we move into 2022. In northern Virginia in particular, the new Amazon campus is bringing more jobs into the area. There are also more high-wage-sector jobs open than ever before, creating new opportunities for young professionals looking for a solid paycheck.

With so many high-paying jobs up for grabs, first-time homebuyers can be more confident in making a major purchase like a mortgage. Some others are looking to get out of the rental market and start investing in the real estate market. Given how well the industry weathered the pandemic, many people look at it as a safe way to build their wealth in uncertain times.

Competition Will Remain Stiff 

Given all this demand, it may come as no surprise that competition for homes will remain stiff. In 2021, we saw homes selling in a matter of hours, not days, and bidding wars driving sale prices sky-high. Buyers who wanted to get hands on their dream home had to act fast before someone else got an accepted offer.

This year, buyers are going to have to be on top of their game if they want to snag the home of their dreams. Mortgage pre-qualifications are going to be more important than ever, and buyers will need to be prepared to act fast when a promising home comes on the market. Many buyers are opting to get pre-inspections in order to help them move the closing process along even faster.

Supply Will Ease Up

Although demand is going to remain high and homes are going to move fast, experts say that the inventory shortage is likely to ease up in 2022. The supply chain is beginning to recover a bit, and construction companies can return to somewhat normal operations. New houses will start coming on the market again, and we’ll see that supply pool return to more normal levels.

Many current homeowners may also elect to put their homes on the market this year, adding to the inventory pool. Homeowners who have been contemplating a move may want to take advantage of the current market highs before it drops back off again. Others may be looking for their own opportunities to upgrade (or downsize) before interest prices rise any more.

Demand Will Shift to Urban Centers

While the housing market demand is likely to stay high all over northern Virginia, we’re likely to see the demand shift more toward urban centers. Today’s homebuyers want to be close to their jobs so their commutes don’t take as much of their days. They also enjoy the amenities cities offer, such as restaurants, gyms, and museums.

As we come out of the pandemic, more first-time buyers are going to want to take advantage of these burgeoning social scenes. Many jobs are also moving employees back to the office, pulling people back to cities. Competition for urban dwellings will be especially intense in the coming year.

Explore the Northern VA Housing Market

The 2021 housing market was unlike any we’ve seen in recent history, and 2022 is likely to break the mold again. Although interest rates and house prices will continue to go up, we’ll see competition for houses remain stiff. The supply pool will recover some, and urban housing will become especially hot as people move back to the cities.

If you’d like to explore the northern VA housing market for yourself, check out the rest of our site at Nomadic Real Estate. We provide leasing, management, sales, and, most importantly, peace of mind. Learn more about our real estate sales services today and start getting the expertise you need.

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Enhanced Reporting

Your portal includes a selection of extremely useful reports. Reports are available in the “Reports” section, and are distinct from the financial statements. Unlike financial statements which are static records, Reports are dynamic real-time records that will update with current data every time you view them. 

Scroll down to learn more about Reports:

Navigate to the "Reports" module in your portal:

Owner Portal Reports
  • Keep in mind, these reports are dynamic records. They will refresh to display current information every time you view them. 

Enhanced Rent Roll Report:

Enhanced Rent Roll Report
  • The Enhanced Rent Roll Report will show the rent amount, last payment date, move-in date, lease expiration date, and security deposit amount for each of your tenants. 
  • It will also show a portfolio summary with occupancy percentage, vacancy loss, and more!

Unit Comparison Report:

Unit Comparison Report
  • If you own multiple units (or buildings) with Nomadic, you’ll get access to the Unit Comparison Report. 
  • This report enables you to quickly compare financial performance between your units at a glance without toggling between individual reports. 

Income Statement Month-Over-Month:

Income Statement by Month Report
  • The Income Statement Detail – Monthly Report serves as a month-over-month record of portfolio performance. You’ll see itemized income and expense categories and can track monthly. This report will update with fresh data every time you view it. 

Financial Statements

Financial statements will be published to your portal on a monthly basis. The statements are found in your Documents library, and provide a historical record of all financial performance. The statements serve as a snapshot of financial performance over a given period, and are static documents (unlike Reports, the statements do not update/change in real-time). 

Scroll down for more info about the Financial Statements in your Documents library:

The Documents area contains monthly financial statements:

Owner Portal Documents
  • The statements in the Documents are are static documents. They are posted to the portal once a month to serve as a historical record of financial performance. 

Download a statement to see month and YTD financials:

Owner Portal Property Statement

You'll also find a month-over-month operating statement:

Month over Month Statement

Portal Communication Tool

You can use your owner portal to communicate with our team. Any messages you send through the portal will go straight to your Account Manager. When we reply, you’ll get an email notification and you’ll also see the message in your portal next time you log in. 

Here’s an overview of using the communication platform:

Click "Communications" and navigate to "Conversations":

Commincation Dashboard Screenshot
  • The communications module will contain a record of all messages that you create through the portal. 

Click the "New Message" button and send your message:

Owner Portal New Message Screenshot

Responses will show up in the conversation ticket:

Portal Conversation Response Screenshot
  • You’ll get an email notification whenever you get a response, and you’ll also see the message in your portal next time you log in. 

You can reply in-line using the comment box:

Owner Portal Comment

Each conversation will be logged in its entirety:

Portal Conversation Snapshot

Understanding the Ledger

Your portal includes a ledger with all transactions. The ledger is populated with data in real-time as transactions flow through our accounting software. Much of this information is also available in the Reports area, as well as the Statements in your Documents library, but the ledger is the most comprehensive resource for diving into the details. 

Please scroll through the sections below to get a better understanding of how to interpret the ledger. 

By default, transactions are sorted chronologically:

Owner Ledger Dates
  • The date reflected in the lefthand column is the actual transaction date, not the “bill date”. This is the date the transaction was actually processed. 

If you have multiple properties with Nomadic, you'll see the address for each transaction in the "Location" column:

Ledger Property Column
  • You can filter the ledger to look at just one property, all properties, or specific sets of properties. 
  • If you only have one property with us, you’ll just see the ledger for that property. 

The Description column displays the transaction type:

Owner Ledger Description Column
  • BILL: this is an expense transaction, such as for repair costs or management fees.
  • CHARGE: this is a transaction  billed to the tenant, most typically a rent payment. 
  • NACHA EXPORT: this is a credit we processed to your distribution account. This type of transaction is how you get paid! 

The Amount column shows the dollar value of each transaction:

Owner Ledger Amount Column
  • Positive Amounts: if an amount is positive, it reflects a transaction that is payable to you. Typically, this will be a rent payment that we collected from your tenants. On occasion, a positive number could also signify a journal entry or credit adjustment. 
  • Negative Amounts:  if an amount is negative, this is a transaction that is either payable to Nomadic or is an amount that has already been paid to you. Typically this will be for repair costs or management/leasing fees. Owner draws (net distributions into your checking/savings account) also reflect as negative amounts, since they have already been paid to you. 

The Account Balance column shows a sum of positive/negative transactions at a given point in time:

Owner Ledger Account Balance Column
  • Account Balance should always equal zero after a net distribution has been processed. When the balance is zero, this means that all expenses have been paid and you’ve received the remainder as net operating income, leaving a balance of zero (meaning: no one is due any money, as all funds have been distributed appropriately). 

Navigating the Propertyware Owner Portal

Your portal includes some extremely useful features that help you understand your property’s financial performance at a new level, with real-time transparency into every transaction.

Scroll through the snapshots below for an overview of portal navigation! If you need more help or have specific questions about using the portal, you can reach out to your Account Manager any time for a screen share. 

You can filter all info by date range or property:

PW Portal Filters

View a snapshot of income and expenses on your dashboard:

PW Owner Dashboard View

See every transaction in real-time on your ledger:

Owner Portal Ledger View

Statements and forms will be posted to your documents library:

Owner Portal Document Library

View a suite of real-time financial reports:

Portal Reports View

See a running list of all bills, and drill down for more detail:

Owner Portal Bills View

Under Bill Details, you'll find dates/descriptions/amounts and more:

Portal Bill Details

You can also communicate with your Account Manager through the portal:

Owner Portal Communication Tools

How do net distributions work?

Net distributions keep your accounting clean and simple. Each month we’ll collect rent from the tenants, deduct any repair expenses for the previous month and any management/leasing fees for the current month, and credit the remaining net operating income to your account. 

Net Distribution

You’ll receive a statement via email each time a net distribution is processed, and can view all transaction details in your Propertyware owner portal.