Today I’m unboxing one of the newest technologies that we’re implementing in our business to complement all the others we have that specifically cater to virtual reality home tours in the age of COVID-19. We had been using Matterport in-house, but we recently got a quicker, more consumer-friendly tool: a RICOH camera. This tool is helping our homeowners get more online traffic to their listings so they can attract buyers to their property without them having to see it in person. To learn more about the RICOH camera and how it makes virtual reality home tours simple, watch the short video above.
Single-family home sales were down 23.2% in April 2020; 568 home sales closed in April 2019, and this year we only saw 395. While this is bad news, it’s at least what we expected to see. The great news, however, is that prices are still protected and rising.
Last month, prices for single-family homes were actually up 7.8% compared to April 2019; the median price was $249,450. The one thing helping safeguard prices right now is that supply is still critically low—down 21.8% over last year.
We’re currently sitting at 4.3 months’ worth of inventory, which is still very close to the record low of 4.1 months we hit a few months ago. Anything below six months is a seller’s market, so we’re still well within that parameter.
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We’ve been able to adapt very well and we continue to help our clients achieve their real estate goals.
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Let’s consider traffic, aka showings per listing. Traffic is down 43.8% year over year. This is a massive drop, but its effect on the market has been mitigated by a positive trend: We’ve been tracking new business under contract and seen a significant rise recently. In the seven days prior to the recording of the video, 430 properties went under contract in our MLS worth $97 million. This is the culmination of three consecutive weeks of steadily increasing new business; three weeks ago we saw 260 properties go under contract, the week after that saw around 370, and now we’re at 430—truly fantastic news given the circumstances.
This is the result of a lot of out-of-town buyers from Maryland, New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Connecticut. Last weekend we had a gentleman drive down from Maryland and sleep in his car just to be able to look at a property he found online. He drove back to Maryland but will close on this property in about a week and a half.
Our phone lines are incredibly busy and online activity is off the charts. We have 56,914 active buyers in our market looking on just my website alone. These buyers need houses to look at, so if you know anyone who is even considering selling, reach out to us as soon as possible.
We were fortunate enough to have already invested in amazing technology that enables us to offer virtual walk-throughs of our properties so that contracts can be hammered out with minimal risk, keeping buyers and sellers safe. As soon as the coronavirus became a serious threat, we acquired all the necessary PPE (gloves, masks, shoe guards, disinfectants, etc.) so that in-person tours—if necessary for a deal—could be executed as safely as possible. So far, we’ve been able to adapt very well, and we continue to help our clients achieve their real estate goals.
As we talked about previously, condo sales took an early hit; the most recent numbers show that for April they were down 47.2% from last year. Despite this, prices held up, increasing 11.5%. Supply also increased by 9.4%. We’ve actually had a lot of buyers in April who were interested in condos but couldn’t access the buildings. Due to the lockdown restrictions, many units simply couldn’t be shown.
Interest rates are back down to a near 12-month low—3.19% for a 30-year fixed mortgage. The downside is that we’re seeing it become more difficult to get financing. While prices are protected right now, I can’t claim that they’ll stay that way indefinitely. We may see prices dip slightly eventually. With liquidity tightening up and the long-term pricing forecast uncertain, my advice to buyers is to not sit too long on the sidelines.
If you’re thinking about selling or making a home purchase, please reach out by phone or email. I live, eat, and breathe this kind of market data, and we can break it down by specific neighborhoods for you. Remember: In these bizarre times, it’s imperative to have skilled experts on your side. We’re always here for you.
