Will the Housing Market Pick Up This Year?

The global pandemic has altered the plans of many buyers and sellers. Many are wondering if the market will change and if so how. They are wondering if they should put their home buying on hold or continue. Sellers are trying to determine if they should still sell or if the market is no longer in their favor. Via the 2020 NAR Flash Survey: Economic Pulse, National Association of Realtors (NAR) has been tracking the behavior changes of homebuyers and sellers. Lawrence Yun, Chief Economist at NAR, noted a change:

“After a pause, home sellers are gearing up to list their properties with the reopening of the economy…Plenty of buyers also appear ready to take advantage of record-low mortgage rates and the stability that comes with these locked-in monthly payments into future years.”

What about sellers?

Sellers are making plans to move. More than 3 out of 4 potential sellers are preparing to list their homes with a Realtor once the stay-at-home orders are removed. This means that more inventory will be available on the market for homebuyers.

Zillow reported a rise in new listings this week. This is a great indication of how the housing market will bounce back up.

“The number of new for-sale listings overall has shown improvement, up 5.9% last week from the previous week. New listings of the most-expensive homes…are now seeing the biggest resurgence, up 8%. The uptick is likely a sign sellers are feeling more confident because of improving buyer demand, as newly pending sales have also jumped up during the same period.”

What about buyers?

The survey shows a definite change in buyers.

• 5% of those surveyed said that buyers are changing their focus from urban to rural and suburban areas.
• 1 in 8 Realtors report changes in desired home features. Buyers now want homes with bigger yards, more space for family, and larger home offices. This is a clear change that comes with more employees working from remotely from home.
• Only 17% said buyers stopped looking due to employment change/loss.

Buyer demand is strong. Inventory is low. Once the country begins to reopen, sellers will start listing and the market will pick up.

Bottom Line

If you are thinking of selling your home, let’s connect. Call us at 954-830-7000. We are South Florida’s Real Estate Experts. If you want to buy but not sure what the process entails. Call us. We will help you with every step of the way. Take advantage of this time. There will be an increase in inventory once the stay-at-home orders are lifted. If you need to get pre-approved for a mortgage, contact Mortgage Broker Iliana Tegov at Voget Financial Services at 954-614-9000 or email iliana@vogetfinancial.com.