Key Highlights
- August kicked off strong contract signings, according to National Association of REALTORS®
- Agents say that business exponentially busier now than beginning of 2010, pre-pandemic
With summer being the new spring, it makes sense that realtor.com’s Housing Market Recovery Index reported that August is the new May. Agents and brokers have been showing and selling homes nonstop.
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Despite Keller Williams and RE/Max reporting Q2 revenue closed transaction decreases of -15% (Keller Williams) and revenue declines of -26.9% RE/MAX), both brands were optimistic. Terry Story, a realtor with Keller Williams Realty Service in East Boca Raton FL told HousingWire that business is exponentially busier now than at the beginning of this year. Story said, “…then, about mid-May, (business) just accelerated. Everybody came out of the woodwork and it just keeps getting faster and faster and faster…(and) we’re selling property to people sight-unseen out of the area.
San Diego Compass agent Steve Beaupre reinforced Story’s comments. “As people have been coming back into the market, you’re seeing houses go for prices that are way over asking, and buyers kind of willing to do anything and everything they can to secure a property because it is so competitive.”
Asking prices are up and inventory continues to be down. According to realtor.com, total inventory is down -35%.
Regionally, contract signings during the last week of July looked like…
- Midwest – +21%
- South – +20%
- Northeast – +13%
- West – -4%
Story said that Q2 began with pent-up demand and little inventory so “we didn’t have any activity for a couple of months…” and then May arrived and WHAM! He said, “I don’t know that we’re going to see a slowdown…” as historically, the market slows down in September and October but the word “historically” may no longer apply to anything when it comes to real estate these days.
Beaupre said, “Spring’s home buying season…was just deferred, so we have both spring and summer now because the world was in such a unique spot when this (COVID pandemic) started.”
Any predictions for the rest of the year? About the best anyone can say is, amidst the pandemic, it’s unclear what is going to happen for the remainder of this year.
Thanks to realtor.com, The National Association of REALTORS® and HousingWire.
Also read: New Single-Family Home Sales Spike in May; Existing Home Sales Plunge, Be In-The-Know About Filing Your Taxes, How Coronavirus Has Affected Real Estate – So Far
