The real estate market in southwest Michigan is expected to stay strong in 2022. The Southwestern Michigan Association of Realtors says for most of 2021, sellers saw monthly selling prices above prices in 2020. Meanwhile, buyers benefitted from low lending rates. Moving into 2022, the association says low inventory and low-interest rates will continue to fuel the real estate prices in Southwest Michigan. In December, the number of houses sold was down by 19% from December of 2020. Overall, year-to-date sales in 2021 came close to the record-setting number of sales in 2020. The average selling price in December of 2021 was $377,000, which was 18% higher than the average selling price of December 2020. Since 2015, the average selling price in the region has increased 63%. The association says the dark cloud in the market is the low inventory, with just 514 houses available, representing a two month supply. There was one bank-owned or foreclosed home as part of all transactions in December, which was less than 1%.
