How COVID-19 Affects the Current Housing Market: Is It the Time to Move?

Virtual tours, sight-unseen transactions, clandestine showings— 2020 has been the strangest year for real estate, and undoubtedly the year that saw the highest surge in market price.

The fragile global economy has taken a major hit from the COVID-19 pandemic. Since all the lockdowns and shelter-in-place have taken effect all over the country since the earlier part of 2020, business operations and personal finances have been on a downward spiral. So, it’s important to reconsider decisions that involve your budget – this includes relocating to a new place.

Home prices went down during the last recession after a housing crash led to millions of families to lose their houses. Back at the beginning of the pandemic, when the U.S. had shed 20.5 million jobs in a single month, it would be so easy to predict a housing market crash – one that was bad for sellers but in favor of buyers looking to buy a house during the pandemic. After all, in many states in the country, open houses were banned during the
shelter-in-place orders.

However, this hasn’t been the case so far. In fact, the median price of homes in 2020 consistently went up each month.

According to YCharts, the median home rates in the US in March when the shelter-in-place was first announced was $280,700. As of November, however, the price soared to $313,100. That’s an increase of 11.54%!

One of the main reasons why many people buy a new house during the pandemic is because they want a bigger home. And most houses that are being sold today are the ones that are on the expensive side.

The pandemic has caused the economy to go down and businesses to shut down, a condition typically associated with slower home sales and a slump in prices. However, white-collar professionals have mostly ditched the worst of the slump. A lot of those who are able to work from home are looking for a bigger house with more space.

For some, on the other hand, they just thought that buying a vacation home in another state
to be their “sanctuary” during the peak of the pandemic is a smart idea.

This demand for homes is the reason for the skyrocketed rate in the real estate market.

• Selling Your Old Home
When leaving your old home to move to a new one, you’re probably wondering how much money you can make. Of course, this depends on many different factors. However, as a reference, the profit you can make from selling a house has increased in the second quarter of 2020, to $67,902. That was based on the $63,000 in the first quarter of the year and the $61,900 in the second quarter of last year.

• Buying a New Home
Now, this is where it gets trickier – buying a home in 2020 might look intimidating due to the price surges that have been going on. However, if you focus on sticking to your budget, the pricing trends shouldn’t affect you that much. No matter how much your budget is, you’ll find houses are still suitable for your ideal price range. If searching for one feels too much for you, there are real estate agents to help you with your search.

Selling and buying a home to move in has surely become even more stressful and challenging during the COVID-19 pandemic. But even though it can be trickier than it already is, it is not impossible and shouldn’t be avoided.

In fact, this time is a good time to take the plunge. There’s no better time to leave the bad things brought by 2020 and start afresh in a new place.

No matter what your reason is – may it be for your family or friends, cost of living, career opportunity, needing a bigger place, income loss, or safety – moving to a new place comes with a lot of good things.

And if you want moving to be easier for you, we at Poseidon Moving and Storage are here to help! With years of experience, we can help you with all your relocating needs! So, call us today to get a FREE quote, and learn more about our competitive pricing!