What Impact Might COVID-19 Have on Home Values?
What Impact Might COVID-19 Have on Home Values?
![]() A big challenge facing the housing industry is determining what impact the current pandemic may have on home values. Some buyers are hoping for major price reductions because the health crisis is straining the economy. The price of any item, however, is determined by supply and demand, which is how many items are available in relation to how many consumers want to buy that item. In residential real estate, the measurement used to decipher that ratio is called months supply of inventory. A normal market would have 6-7 months of inventory. Anything over seven months would be considered a buyers' market, with downward pressure on prices. Anything under six months would indicate a sellers' market, which would put upward pressure on prices. Going into March of this year, the supply stood at three months – a strong seller's market. While buyer demand has decreased rather dramatically during the pandemic, the number of homes on the market has also decreased. The recently released Existing Home Sales Report from the National Association of Realtors (NAR) revealed we currently have 3.4 months of inventory. This means homes should maintain their value during the pandemic. This information is consistent with the research completed by John Burns Real Estate Consulting, which recently reported:
What are the experts saying?Here's a look at what some experts recently reported on the matter: Ivy Zelman, President, Zelman & Associates
Mark Fleming, Chief Economist, First American
Bottom LineEven though the economy has been placed on pause, it appears home prices will remain steady throughout the pandemic. |
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