What to expect in the Real Estate Market in 2021 and what’s happening now.
I know it’s hard to tell with everything we have going on. I get it, I’ve seen so many different markets over the last 20 years and this has been one of the more unprecedented and unfamiliar markets since I’ve started.
This is Emily Cressey with HomePro Associates at Home Smart Real Estate here in Seattle.
If you look at the Housing Market Recovery Index, here’s a graphic from Realtor.com – you see a V-shaped recovery, which was just as predicted back in March when the pandemic started.
The market has recovered and is even looking better than when the pandemic started. Back in March we were at 106.5 and now we are at 112.8.
Yes, there was a definite dip in the housing market when the pandemic first started, but now as you can see here, the market dipped and then began a strong and steady rise, and now we are stronger than back in March.
This analysis measures 4 things.
(#1) One being the Demand of homes, meaning “Are buyers wanting to buy?”
(#2) Two, it measures the Supply of homes, we call that real estate Inventory, the number of homes on the market.
(#3) It also analyzes Pricing, are homes prices going up or down
(#4) And lastly, The Housing Recovery Index measures Time on Market. This is how long it takes homes to sell.
INVENTORY and INTEREST RATES are, in my opinion some of the strongest indicators of why we are seeing such of a increase in housing activity.
There is lack of supply and high demand because interest rates are at all time lows!
What About Forbearance Plans? Will We See A Spike In Foreclosures Or A Market Crash Like 2008?
Also, if you look at the number of active forbearances (and just to remind you a Forbearance is deferment of mortgage payments), the number of Active Forbearances have been declining which means fewer people are starting to have trouble paying their mortgages.
Also, if we look at when homeowners EXITED their forbearance plans, you’ll see that:
54.6% are paid in full,
30.7% are working out repayment plans and
14.7% are still in trouble.
The things to be concerned about is that for those 14.7% who are still in trouble, their forebearance plan may very well turn into a short sale or foreclosure, so that is something to be made aware of. However, this is national market data. Here in Seattle, most people would choose to SELL their home before losing it to the bank.
The market is still hot and buyers are active. Look out for more information from us about the housing market and how it may affect you.
I’m Emily Cressey with HomePro Associates at HomeSmart in Seattle and we’re always here to help. Reach out anytime even if you’ve just got a few questions. We’d be more than happy to help. Remember, we are here to serve!
