2021 was a wild ride for real estate -- home prices up, rent prices up and inventory low. In this week's Deep Dive, News 12's Kristie Reeter looks to see where things stand now heading into the new year.

Where did 2021 stand when it came to real estate in New Jersey?

“Home sales were really hot, especially in the beginning of the year,” says Caleb Silver with Investopedia. “If we look at the national average it is up 20% year over year in terms of home prices, but Jersey slowed a lot since the beginning of the year. Monmouth County, the biggest increase, up 19%, Morris County up 12.4%, Bergen County up 11.5%, and Hudson only up 6.1%."

Does Silver have any projections for the new year?

"Well you could probably bet on the fact that interest rates are going to rise which means mortgage rates are going to rise too. We know inventory has been tight so we probably will see a slowdown in sales and more of a drop in home prices as we get into the new year,” says Silver.