Evolving Trends: Sellers, Home Buyers, and the Housing Market.

Since COVID-19 started spreading across the country, it has had a tremendous impact on the housing industry. The characteristics and trends of sellers, buyers, and the houses the sell and buy have evolved this year, according to an annual survey conducted by the National Association of Realtors (NAR).

The survey includes responses from 8,200 buyers and sellers across the country who bought or sold a home between July 2019 and June of 2020. The survey found that 57% of buyers who purchased a home during the pandemic (from March 2020 onward) purchased in a suburban area, whereas 50% of pre-pandemic buyers purchased suburban homes. 

This reflects how COVID-19 has driven many buyers to search for homes outside of the city. With more Americans working remotely due to COVID-19, there is less need to live in urban areas and the suburbs have grown in popularity. 

The survey also found that buyers who purchased homes during the pandemic bought them at steeper prices than pre-pandemic buyers. Homes sold during the pandemic typically went for about $339,400, a substantial uptick from the typical pre-pandemic home which sold for $270,000. Data also shows that 23% of buyers who acquired a home after March purchased a home that cost $500,000 or more.

“Some of this is normal; it happens every year," realtor.com’s Chief Economist Danielle Hale said in a recent analysis of the survey. "We do know that spring and summer buyers tend to be families who purchase larger, more expensive homes.”

"But some of it could be driven by the pandemic," Hale added. 

It is undeniable that during the pandemic, home prices have surged as the housing inventory faces a shortage. MReport Daily Dose