Summer Home-Buying is Heating Up
After the COVID-19 pandemic started to negatively affect the economy, we have to admit that the team here at Karen Cannon, Realtors got a little worried. We were very concerned about how the economy’s decline would affect the housing market, especially the housing market in the Sandy Springs and Dunwoody areas. Well, we are pleased and blessed to report that while we did see a slight dip in April, May started to pick back up and by June, we saw numbers that rivaled those of the previous year. In fact, our anticipated sales volume for July is already 42% higher than July of last year.
In addition to that, homes are selling quicker now than any other time in the past two years, according to a new analysis provided by Zillow. While we understand that the economy hasn’t fully recovered, we couldn’t feel more optimistic about the gradual recovery that we have seen in the housing market in our area. We are feeling very positive about how the industry is starting the summer buying season and we also can’t wait to be busy this summer as we anticipate that it’s going to be a big one!
Bouncing Back
It’s probably not a big surprise that there was a dip in the housing marketing at the start of the pandemic, but what’s also interesting is the market’s resilience, and home values are one of the most notable examples of that resilience. Data received from the National Association of Realtors® (NAR), indicates that while sales numbers dipped in April, home prices have actually increased.
Not only have home values continued to increase but they have actually risen 4.3 percent year-over-year according to a report from Zillow. In that report, we also see that “the housing market has shown resilience during the coronavirus pandemic, slowing as stay-at-home orders were given across the country, but not screeching to a halt.”
At the start of the pandemic, the housing market saw both sellers and buyers shy away from buying and/or selling their homes. While that does seem like there was less housing demand at various times, there was also less supply. This resulted in a rising home value trajectory due to the supply and demand balance.
The stability of the marketing isn’t only seen in reference to home prices. Among other things, sales are bouncing back. With the trends that we are currently seeing, potential buyers must act quickly. While sellers have been delayed in making progress, they should keep in mind that buyers are wanting to press forward quickly and list their homes as quickly as possible. “Buyers shopping today might expect to be welcomed by desperate sellers, but they’ll instead discover houses selling like hotcakes in the speediest market in recent memory,” said Zillow Economist Jeff Tucker.
We Aren’t There Yet
As we all know, everything hasn’t quite returned to normal, even though there are signs of stabilization in the housing market. For now, though, the improving trajectory of many housing market metrics is something to keep at the top of mind. As we start the summer selling season, many things may still be uncertain but we are definitely moving in the right direction. In fact, as we see it now, our road to recovery looks incredibly bright. We have seen many of our sellers experience some competition starting to happen and even a few bidding wars.
We have a long road to economic stabilization and recovery but the future of the housing market is bright!