What impact is Coronavirus having on the housing market? This is the question I am most frequently asked these days. And yes, housing has been impacted in quite a few ways, at least here locally in the Philadelphia suburbs. If anyone was bothered by a feature, or lack thereof, in their home before, it has really pushed them over the breaking point recently. Since the real estate market opened back up in March, we have been experiencing multiple offers, bidding wars and buyers waiving all kinds of extra contingencies in order to "win" the house. I'm seeing tons of offers being made without a home sale contingency attached, for example. It's also not uncommon to see a house sell right now, especially one that has been updated, for $30,000 over asking price. It's a fast-paced market and quite wild! Here are some other trends emerging:
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People are starting to leave cities for suburbs - we are seeing more and more Philly buyers move into our area. Not all of them are buying at the moment, but they are definitely out looking.
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Pools and outdoor spaces are quickly becoming a huge trend - pools were never of huge demand in our area. Quite frequently we would hear buyers asking instead how to go about filling an existing pool in. However, with recent shutdowns and restrictions, people are spending more time at home. Dogs, play-sets, and trampolines are also in high demand at the moment.
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Home offices and home gyms are moving up on buyers wish lists - Again with people being left without many other options, home is now becoming everything.
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2nd homes (vacation homes) are having a major moment - our local shore points are also experiencing multiple offers and higher prices as a result of increased demand.
If you are thinking of buying or selling it's definitely more important than ever before to meet with a Realtor® who can show you how to take advantage of this market, especially if you are selling. If you are buying, you will need to know the ins and outs of what's happening in order to structure your offer to be competitive with the other offers that are coming in.
