{"id":2219,"date":"2021-11-18T13:12:13","date_gmt":"2021-11-18T13:12:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/phphouses.com\/blog\/?p=2219"},"modified":"2021-11-18T13:12:13","modified_gmt":"2021-11-18T13:12:13","slug":"home-sales-surge-may-see-winter-like-never","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/phphouses.com\/blog\/home-sales-surge-may-see-winter-like-never\/","title":{"rendered":"Home Sales About To Surge? We May See a Winter Like Never Before."},"content":{"rendered":"
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Home Sales About To Surge? We May See a Winter Like Never Before.<\/p><\/div>\n

Like most industries, residential real estate has a seasonality to it. For example, toy stores sell more toys in October, November, and December than they do in any other three-month span throughout the year. More cars are sold in the U.S. during the second quarter (April, May, and June) than in any other quarter of the year.<\/p>\n

Real estate is very similar. The number of homes sold in the spring is almost always much greater than at any other time of the year. It\u2019s even labeled as the\u00a0spring buying season<\/em>. Historically, the number of buyers and listings for sale significantly increase in the spring and remains strong throughout the summer. Once fall sets in, the number of buyers and sellers typically drops off.<\/p>\n

Last year, however, that seasonality didn\u2019t happen. The outbreak of the virus and subsequent slowing of the economy limited sales during the spring market. These sales were pushed back later in the year, and last fall and winter saw a dramatic increase in home sales over previous years. The only thing that held the market back was the extremely limited supply of homes for sale.<\/p>\n

What About This Winter?<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Some experts thought we\u2019d return to the industry\u2019s normal seasonality this winter with both the number of purchasers and houses available for sale falling off. However, data now shows that neither of those situations will likely occur. Buyer demand is still extremely strong, and it appears we may soon see a somewhat uncharacteristic increase in the number of homes coming to the market.<\/p>\n

Buyer Demand Remains Strong<\/strong><\/h5>\n

The latest\u00a0Showing Index<\/a><\/em>\u00a0from\u00a0ShowingTime<\/em>, which tracks the average number of monthly showings on available homes, indicates buyer activity was slightly lower than at the same time last year but much higher than any of the three previous years (see chart below<\/em>):<\/p>\n

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Showing Index for the Month Over the Last 5 Years<\/p><\/div>\n

A\u00a0report<\/a>\u00a0from\u00a0realtor.com<\/em>\u00a0confirms buying activity remains strong in the existing home sales market:<\/p>\n

\u201cNew housing data shows 2021\u2019s feverish home sales pace broke a yearly record in October, . . . with last month marking the\u00a0eighth straight month of buyers snatching up homes more quickly than the fastest pace in previous years<\/strong>. . . .\u201d<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Buyer activity for newly constructed homes is also very strong. Ali Wolf, Chief Economist for\u00a0Zonda<\/em>,\u00a0recently reported<\/a>\u00a0that Stuart Miller, the Executive Chairman of\u00a0Lennar<\/em>, one of the nation\u2019s largest home builders, said this about demand:<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is still a\u00a0great deal of demand\u00a0<\/strong>at our sales centers with people lining up and not enough supply.\u201d<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The only question heading into this winter is whether the number of listings available could come close to meeting this buyer demand. We may have just received the answer to that question.<\/p>\n

Sellers Are About To List \u2013 Right Now<\/strong><\/h5>\n

Instead of waiting for the normal spring buying market, new research indicates that homeowners thinking about selling are about to put their homes on the market this winter.<\/p>\n

Speaking to the release of a report on this\u00a0recent research<\/a>, George Ratiu, Manager of Economic Research for\u00a0realtor.com<\/em>, said:<\/p>\n

\u201cThe pandemic has delayed plans for many Americans, and homeowners looking to move on to the next stage of life are no exception.\u00a0Recent survey data suggests the majority of prospective sellers are actively preparing to enter the market this winter.<\/strong>\u201d<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Here are some highlights in the report:<\/p>\n

Of homeowners planning to enter the market in the next year:<\/p>\n