It’s been another outstanding year for residential real estate, but what the future holds for 2022 is anybody’s guess. The fast-changing landscape for the market remains driven by a myriad of circumstances — COVID outbreaks, supply-chain problems and the growing work-from-home trend — that make the crystal ball a lot cloudier. But our expert panel of Chicagoland brokers, lenders and developers remain vigilant in their commitment to navigating the uncharted waters of a market like no one has ever seen.

Will inventory pick up in 2022? What will happen with interest rates as we take two steps forward and one step back in the battle to eradicate COVID? What do builders expect in regards to bringing new units to market over the next 12 months? It might be an all-bets-are-off kind of year when it comes to prognostications, but one theme was consistent in this year’s predictions issue: The future is bright for the industry.

We take a deeper dive this month on construction in our Real Issues feature that looks at the local and national homebuilder industry. Our forward-looking coverage continues with a column from incoming Chicago Association of REALTORS® President Antje Gehrken.

If you’re not already planning for 2022, it’s time to get started, and we aim to get you off on the right foot with our newest Top Coach column, penned by real estate coach Katie Lance, who offers some key tips on creating video content for your business.

While it’s great to hear from Chicagoland’s industry leaders, we get some of our best tips from our readers. Drop us a line at Tim.Inklebarger@agentpublishing.com, and let us know what you think the future holds. We’d love to hear from you.