Economists tell us that there is an ebb and flow to our economy. Any time there is a recession looming, the housing market takes a big hit. People aren\u2019t moving to new jobs in new cities as much nor are they looking for their next home purchase if no additional income is coming in \u2013 so they stay put.<\/p>\n
Many Americans have also lost their jobs, small business owners have lost their customers, and all of this takes away buying power and consumer spending. Some may have started 2019 or 2020 with dreams of upsizing or downsizing, moving to a different school district for their children, or making a move to a more desired climate.<\/p>\n
One challenge in the current economy is that sellers do not want to lower their expectations on the price they should get for selling (which is sometimes an incentive for buyers) and buyers may have had to change their priorities or hold off on making a purchase \u2013 or be unsure that they can sell their current home when looking to buy a new one.<\/p>\n
Experts suggest that this summer, which is the timeframe we typically see as being the hottest time for buying and selling homes, there could be a 30-40% drop in home sales due to the coronavirus. But there\u2019s another issue at hand \u2013 inventory. It\u2019s just not there.<\/p>\n
The average amount of homes sold in the US in 2019 was 5.34 million according to data from statista<\/a>. According to Yahoo! Money<\/a>, \u201cLast month\u2019s inventory of 1.50 million homes for sale was the lowest March figure on records dating back to 1999, according to the NAR. That was also down 10.2% from a year ago. <\/p>\n March sales activity partially captured the effects of the efforts to contain the pandemic, which included social distancing and the shutdown of non-essential businesses in many parts of the country.<\/p>\n While housing sales edged up 0.8% from a year ago, the increase was boosted largely by sales of homes priced at $250,000 and higher. Homes priced at $100,000 or less saw a 18% drop in year-over-year sales, while homes between $100,000 and $250,000 fell 4%.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n