Here are the five most critical things happening in our real estate market.

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The 2nd quarter of 2020 is in the books and it has been an interesting one. There has been a ton of speculation about how unemployment, social distancing, and the COVID-19 pandemic would affect the real estate market, but here’s a quick look at what you need to know about the real estate market right now:

1. Sellers have been affected. The unprecedented events of 2020 have had a disproportionate effect on sellers, but not in the way you might be thinking. Many sellers have either chosen to, or have been forced to, sit on the sidelines. Military moves were delayed, health risks were evaluated, and some people just chose to sit on the sidelines to see how things play out. This created a massive opportunity for sellers who pressed forward with their moving plans. At the end of Q2, active listings were down over 67% from 2019. If you think you need a year to prep your house for sale, think about what ⅔ less competition would help a buyer overlook.

2. Homes are still selling. 2019 was a successful year for the local real estate industry. I’ve heard more than one person make the assumption that social distancing has hurt home sales, but here are the numbers: Closed sales are up by more than 10% for the year.

It’s clear that it’s an excellent time for sellers.

3. Homes are selling faster. More home sales and less inventory has got to have an effect on how long it takes to sell a home, right? Time on the market for sold properties has decreased from 41 to 33 days, an almost 20% reduction from 2019. If you want to know how our team has cut that number by an additional 40%, click on the free home valuation link below.

4. Our market is healthy. Prices have increased over 2019. For all closed properties, the average sales price is up just over 7%. It’s different in each community, but it’s clear that homes are appreciating at a healthy clip.

5. It’s a great time to buy, too. We can’t let sellers have all the fun. If you’re looking at buying a home, your money will go further today than it would have at almost any point in history. Rates have dropped again and buying power is through the roof. The average home purchase in our area will cost a buyer nearly $200 less per month today than it would have just one year ago.

This is just a quick snippet of the data we’ve tracked to make sure you have the information you need to make the right decisions when buying or selling. If you have any questions about the market or about real estate in general, don’t hesitate to reach out via phone or email.