Key Highlights
- Housing resiliency “remarkable” in midst of pandemic, according to Lawrence Yun, chief economist with National Association of REALTORS®
- Housing market on turnaround with +10% higher annual sales
- Inventory drastically lower than last year
- 33% of realtors report being busier this year than last
After an historic three month nose-dive when the COVID pandemic hit the US in March, a “remarkable housing recovery” happened in June, according to Lawrence Yun, the chief economist with the National Association of REALTORS®(NAR).
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That “remarkable recovery” is still happening in the midst of the continuing pandemic and its ensuing economic impacts.
Yun said at NAR’s virtual 2020 Leadership Summit recently that the housing market is on the up side of a V-shaped recovery and that home sales are some +10% higher than they were one year ago despite housing inventory being approximately -20% lower this year than last.
Most every data point save inventory (-20%) and mortgage interest rates (below 3%) is up. The Commerce Department recently reported that housing starts for both single-family and multifamily units surged nearly +23% over last year. The Mortgage Bankers Association reported that mortgage applications are up +27% compared to last year. NAR’s Pending Home Sales Index is up +6.3% over last year.
Due to the COVID pandemic, remote workers, first-time buyers and minorities are looking to become homeowners outside of urban metros. According to NAR, potential buyers are interested in and searching these locations:
- 47% – suburb/subdivision
- 39% – rural area
- 25% – small town
- 14% 0 urban area/central city
- 13% – resort community/recreation area
NAR found that the following counties are seeing the most growth in remote work:
- Forsyth County GA
- Douglas County CO
- Los Alamos NM
- Collin County TX
- Loudon County VA
- Hamilton County IN
- Williamson County TN
- Delaware County OH
- Dallas County IA
- Wake County NC
Yun predicted that the housing market would remain resilient through 2020 and that home prices will grow 3% – 5%. He anticipates prices to increase +2-3% in 2021. Due to the pandemic dip that occurred in the spring when the housing market went into deep freeze, Yun believes that sales will be down only -2-4% compared to last year. Then, next year in 2021, Yun expects home sales to increase to the tune of +8-12%.
Thanks to realtor magazine.
Also read: eXp World Holdings Reports Revenue Increase of +33% in Q2 2020, Podcast: Todays Real Estate News Headlines | Home Value Loss Looming? | Tim and Julie Harris, Mixed Reviews of Coronavirus Effects on Real Estate
