At the beginning of the year, most analysts were predicting a hot spring sales season for the housing market. But in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak, a lot of prospective home buyers put their plans on hold. Now, it appears they’re ready to buy. According to a new analysis, contract signings were up 15 percent month-over-month during the last week of June and the typical home for sale was sold in just 19 days. That’s good news for the housing market, as it means spring’s crashing sales numbers will likely see a quick summer recovery. But it also means that potential home buyers need to be prepared for a competitive market. Since the inventory of homes for sale hasn’t rebounded as quickly as buyer demand has, there are more home buyers than available homes. In many markets, that’s led to increasing prices, bidding wars, and fewer choices for interested buyers. For example, home prices in cities like San Jose and Seattle were actually falling last year at this time. Now, because of the market’s imbalance, prices have turned around and are up more than 5 percent in both metros. (source)
Delayed Spring Buyers Become Summer Shoppers
