Are You Ready for the Summer Housing Market?
As the health crisis spread earlier this spring, sellers have been cautious about listing their homes. This hesitation, primarily due to fear of the coronavirus, has greatly impacted the number of homes for sale and slowed the typically busy spring real estate season. Mark Fleming, Chief Economist at First American notes:
“As more homeowners are reluctant to list their homes for sale amid the pandemic, the supply of homes available to potential home buyers continues to dwindle.”
With many states beginning phased reopenings, virtual best practices and health and safety guidelines are in place to increase comfort for buyers and sellers. Sellers are returning to the market cautiously. According to the latest Weekly Housing Trends Report from realtor.com:
“New listings: On the slow path to recovery. Nationwide declines held mostly steady this week, dropping 23% over last year, a slight improvement over the 30% declines in early May.”
Although more homes are becoming available, supply still lags behind buyer demand. Javier Vivas, Director of Economic Research for realtor.com, adds:
“Sellers have yet to come back in full force, limiting the availability of homes for sale. Total active listings are declining faster than in previous weeks, and this trend could worsen as buyers regain confidence.”
Lawrence Yun, Chief Economist at the National Association of Realtors (NAR), agrees:
“In the coming months, buying activity will rise as states reopen and more consumers feel comfortable about homebuying amid social distancing measures.”
Homebuyers are currently more confident than sellers, ready to make up for lost time from the spring market. Summer is shaping up to be a strong buying season, so listing your home now could be your best opportunity. As Vivas states:
“More properties will have to enter the market in June to bring the number of options for buyers back to normal levels nationwide and in all large markets.”
Bottom Line
If you’re ready to sell your house this summer, let’s connect today. Buyers are interested, and your home may be exactly what they’re looking for.
