More than 3 in 4 potential sellers–77%–are preparing to sell their homes following the end of stay-at-home orders, with half completing do-it-yourself home improvement projects, according to a new survey from the National Association of Realtors®.
“After a pause, home sellers are gearing up to list their properties with the reopening of the economy,” said NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun. “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.”
NAR’s latest Economic Pulse Flash Survey, conducted May 3-4, asked members how the coronavirus outbreak has impacted the residential and commercial real estate markets. Several highlights include:
Five percent of Realtors® said their clients are shifting neighborhood preferences from urban areas to suburban areas due to COVID-19.
About 1 in 8 Realtors®–13%–reported buyers have changed at least one home feature that’s important to them due to COVID-19. For these buyers, the most common home features they identified as important are home offices, yard space for exercising or growing food, and space to accommodate a family.
Nearly 3 in 4 Realtors® currently working with sellers this week–73%–reported their clients hadn’t reduced listing prices to attract buyers.
View NAR’s Economic Pulse Flash Survey report:
https://www.nar.realtor/research-and-statistics/research-reports/nar-flash-survey-economic-pulse
View NAR’s Weekly Housing Market Monitor:
https://www.nar.realtor/research-and-statistics/weekly-housing-market-monitor
In similar news…
Here come the homebuyers
Pandemic causing people to look for more room — and they've been able to save more too
As a result of shelter-in-place orders across the country, more people are antsy and looking to buy a home this summer. In fact, LendingTree says that 53% of homebuyers are more likely to buy a home in the next year because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
However, 27% said their timeline hasn’t changed, and 20% said they are less likely to buy a home in the next year.
The main reason these potential homebuyers say they would be willing to move is to take advantage of the record-low mortgage rates. A whopping 67% said this is their reason.
Just last week, the average U.S. mortgage rate for a 30-year fixed mortgage fell to 3.15%, the lowest ever recorded in a Freddie Mac data series that goes back almost five decades.
However, although mortgage rates are at record lows, lenders have become more restrictive on what it takes to qualify. LendingTree said that 44% of homebuyers are more worried about qualifying for a mortgage because of the pandemic. Specifically, 58% of first-time homebuyers and 52% of Millennials said they are especially concerned.
Perhaps mortgages in forbearance and loans in forbearance are a contributing factor behind consumers’ willingness to buy – 32% said they were able to save more money for a down payment due to reduced spending, and another 30% said it’s due to home prices dropping. Another 28% said they would move due to being stuck in their small space for so long.
Because the pandemic has accelerated and required the use of tech in real estate now more than ever, 61% told LendingTree that they have toured a home virtually over the last two months, 33% said they had plans to do so and only 7% said there was no plan to tour a home virtually.
Even though it may look like there are more potential homebuyers out there, out of the 20% that said they are less likely to buy a home, 70% of those homeowners say they don’t think now is the time to move, because of uncertainty due to the pandemic.
And despite the availability of virtual home tours, 42% of hesitant buyers said they won’t buy because of inability to tour a home in person, and 38% said they wouldn’t buy because of loss of income.
But, 53% of first-time buyers said they would buy a house without an in-person tour, while 18% of repeat buyers said they’d do the same.
Are you ready to serve Buyers + Sellers in a post-quarantine world? Do you have a plan in place in the case of a second wave + shutdown?
West + Main is uniquely qualified to provide the support, tools, education and advice that Real Estate professionals are going to need to survive 2020, and beyond.
Let’s talk.
