COVID Housing Recovery In Sight

May 29, 2020

Director of Events

Realtor.com's Weekly Housing Trends report suggests everything is in place for a COVID-19 housing recovery. Following weeks of dips in new listings and nearly flat yearly price gains, there looks to be a clear turnaround in both categories.

"Weekly data shows we have taken the first step in the process of returning to healthy housing conditions: getting buyers and sellers off the sidelines," said Javier Vivas, director of economic research for Realtor.com. "The improvement in new listings this week is a sign the market is on its way to recovery, but the deficit in total inventory will be a drag on sales. Many buyers are ready and itching to get back on the market, so the faster we see sellers return, the faster home sales will recover."

Median listing prices are approaching pre-pandemic levels and new listings are down just 20% compared to 29% in the week ending on May 9 and even greater 30% and 40% marks in weeks prior. Inventory struggles are still looming with total inventory being down 22%. Meanwhile, the data also shows that time on market is 16 days slower than this time last year.

"Three quarters (75 of 100) of large metros continued to see smaller declines this week, including the largest three markets in the country: New York, Los Angeles and Chicago," according to the report.

"This week's data shows price gains are reaccelerating as the mix of homes for-sale appears to be reverting back toward pricier properties. While current price gains remain below pre COVID-19 levels, we expect them to regain momentum in the weeks to come as sellers regain confidence and buyers resume activity."

Read more from Realtor.com's Weekly Housing Trends.

About the author

Navi Persaud

Director of Events

Navi Persaud is Director of Events at NMP.

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May 29, 2020

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