6 Real Estate Predictions for 2022, According to Top Rental Agents Across America

Illustration by Cameron Pazol

We interviewed agents from major U.S. cities about how the impact of 2021 will shape what they expect in 2022.

• With the constant flux of return-to-office policies and major companies moving to new cities, supply and demand is shifting dramatically when it comes to rentals.

• Real estate agents will be relying on technology to support their rentals now more than ever before.

• Agents are anticipating increased turnover in 2022 as landlords begin to raise their rents to make up for the losses from the pandemic.

Following the initial whiplash of Covid-19 on the real estate industry, the rental market has begun to stabilize in the face of new variants and inconsistencies of corporate work-from-home policies. These impacts, along with demand far outnumbering supply, will cause the rental market to heat up even more in 2022.

1. 2022 will see continued supply outweighing demand for rentals, causing rent prices to increase. 

"Landlords weren’t able to raise the rent last year due to Covid, so now they are making up for everything they lost by raising the rent, both for those who are renewing leases and for vacant units."

- Lisa Jorgenson, Keller Williams Realty - Newport Estates (Los Angeles, CA)

"Inflation is a big part of why rental prices are going up, as well as supply and demand. In the Columbus market, we aren’t building houses fast enough, even though more people and companies (such as Amazon, Google, Facebook data centers, and a lot of government jobs) are moving to the city, so supply isn’t keeping up with demand."

- Remington Lyman, Reafco (Columbus, OH)

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2. Landlords will look to recoup the losses from their 2020 Covid-friendly rent prices.

"The rent prices right now are essentially locked in, as a result of the 2020 issues. Now we’re seeing landlords try to raise their rents back up and bring rents back to pre-pandemic prices and it’s causing even more turnover. So let’s say you have an apartment that’s typically rented for $4500 but you had to take a haircut to get it rented to $3800 in the fall of 2020 and then all of a sudden you try to raise it back up to $4500 – those tenants are going to leave for better deals."

- Matthew Ramey, Concept Properties (Boston, MA)

"I predict that Downtown Brooklyn will become the new place to rent for people who are getting priced out of the city. There is a lot of development down there and a lot of culture happening in neighborhoods like Fort Greene. Trains are close by and you see a lot of towers with rental units being built there right now."

- Jason Schuchman, Brown Harris Stevens (Manhattan, NY)

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3. Sustained work from home will continue to be a key driver for renters to move out of state and live in new areas. 

"Because so many companies are making remote work almost permanent, we have found people that are moving to this area from out of state because they can continue doing their job [remotely]. Austin has so many qualities that are appealing to people so even though people don’t work in Austin, they are still moving to this area from all over the country."

- Lindsey Randal, RedKanguru (Austin, TX)

"I think as the pandemic and variants continue, it’s going to keep people working from home, and that’s going to keep being one of the drivers of why rentals are up and won’t come down. People care more where they live now — so it's become really ideal for people to move to Miami now because you can be outside all year round, while still working from home."

- Jaclyn Bild, Douglas Elliman (Miami, FL)

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4. Renters relocating to new cities will continue to price the locals out into surrounding neighborhoods. 

"People moving down here [to Miami] who are less price-sensitive, either because of their high-paying jobs or what they are used to, are making it harder for local Miamians to compete.  And then these locals need to look in different neighborhoods or downsize to areas further from the water and city center."

- Jaclyn Bild, Douglas Elliman (Miami, FL)

"About 40% of our units turnover each year and we saw that again this year. But we saw an increase of people moving into the area, which really drove the demand up. California, Oregon, Washington, New Jersey, New York — many coastal states and major cities are moving out here."

- Nathan Gesner, American West Realty (Cody, WY)

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5. Agents are seeing a greater emphasis on certain rental requirements which were once a “nice to have” but now are considered a “must-have” for their next home.

"You have your traditional neighborhoods that people want to live in because they are cool areas to live in; you step out of your apartment and you can go to a cool cafe, restaurant, bar, a park across the street. And because of partial work from home, we may see more people want to move into the high rises due to their amenities."

- Dave Chesnosky, Compass (San Francisco, CA)

"You see a lot more people trying to figure out where they are going to have their desk/work from home set up… people may be less inclined to get a studio and are looking for a two-bedroom instead."

- Jason Schuchman, Brown Harris Stevens (Manhattan, NY)

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6. Technology will be a bigger factor for agents and brokers to rely on, as rental turnovers and transactions increase in 2022.

"We use technology for everything, which makes us more competitive than other brokerages who struggle to still open an email."

- Remington Lyman, Reafco (Columbus, OH)

"I think and hope we’ll see a lot more tools that automate and simplify the process of workflow."

- Dave Chesnosky, Compass (San Francisco, CA)

Overall, it’s anticipated that rental prices will continue to go up in 2022 and while the uncertainty of COVID-19 and work-from-home policies will remain in place, agents will have their hands full sifting through the flood of renters trying to secure their new home.