Will Walnut Creek Home Prices Keep Rising in 2022?

The real estate market in Walnut Creek, California has been highly competitive over the past year. As a result, home prices in the area have risen substantially to reach all-time record highs.

Because of these trends, many home buyers and homeowners are now wondering what the market might do next year. Will home prices in Walnut Creek keep rising in 2022? Will they slow down, or maybe even level off?

While no one can predict future real estate market trends with complete accuracy, it seems likely that house values in the area will keep climbing in 2022. Tight inventory conditions and steady demand will continue to put upward pressure on home prices in Walnut Creek, California — at least for the foreseeable future.

Outlook for Walnut Creek Home Prices in 2022

According to the real estate data company Zillow, the median home value in Walnut Creek rose by a whopping 23% over the past year. As of mid-October 2021, the median price point for this real estate market was around $1,123,000. That’s the highest it has ever been.

(The “median” is the midpoint for a data set. This means half of all homes in Walnut Creek were valued above $1,123,000, while the other half fell below that price point.)

So that’s where we are right now. Looking forward, there’s a good chance house values in Walnut Creek will continue rising throughout 2022. But we might not see the high double-digit gains recorded over the past 12 months.

In October, Zillow made the following prediction for our region:

San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward Metro home values have gone up 17.9% over the past year and Zillow predicts they will rise 7.1% in the next year.

Of course, Walnut Creek is just one small pocket of the broader San Francisco Bay Area. And it has seen even bigger price gains than the 17.9% figure mentioned above. Still, this forecast gives us some insight into what economists expect to happen over the next year or so, with regard to house values.

In 2022, home prices in Walnut Creek, California could mirror the Bay Area outlook by rising more slowly. That seems to be the outlook for many cities across the state.

Last week, we wrote about a housing market forecast issued by the California Association of REALTORS®. Their researchers predicted that the statewide median home price would rise by 5.2% in 2022, followed by a projected gain of 20.3% in 2021. So they too anticipate a cooling trend.

Important Considerations for Home Buyers

These and other projections reinforce a couple of the points presented earlier:

• In 2022, Walnut Creek home prices will almost certainly continue to climb.
• But they’re expected to rise more slowly than they have over the past year.

These are important considerations for those who are planning to buy a home in Walnut Creek, California.

We can’t say for sure what local house values will do over the coming months. But if current trends and forecasts are any indication, the Walnut Creek real estate market could be more expensive next year than it is now.

So a case could be made for buying a house sooner rather than later, to avoid higher costs. This is a key consideration in any real estate market — but doubly important in the pricey Bay Area.

Related: Walnut Creek home buyer’s guide

A Fast-Moving Housing Market With Quick Sales

Here’s something else future home buyers should know. In addition to those rising prices, the Walnut Creek housing market remains highly competitive. Homes tend to sell quickly in this market, and often above the original list price.

Tight inventory conditions have cranked up the competition level among home buyers in Walnut Creek. According to recent reports, the local housing market had less than a one-month supply of houses for sale in August 2021. That’s much lower than the national average.

As you might have guessed, this ongoing supply shortage has accelerated the market. Homes are selling quickly in Walnut Creek. In September, properties listed for sale in the area spent a median of just 10 days on the market. More than half of all homes sold during that month went under contract in less than two weeks.

There’s also a high percentage of properties selling for more than original asking price. All of these trends and statistics point to a highly competitive real estate scene. This is why it seems likely that Walnut Creek home prices will keep rising in 2022 — to some degree.

Bottom line: There’s a lot we don’t know about future real estate conditions. Even the expert predictions are little more than an educated guess. The one thing that seems nearly certain at this point, is that house values in the Walnut Creek area will probably keep appreciating through this year and into next. Something to consider, if you’re in the market to buy.