By KIMBERLEY HAAS
When the holiday season starts, people are typically reluctant to put their homes on the market due to a lack of potential buyers. But this could be the year when that changes.
In a recent article at Realtor.com, the company’s Chief Economist Danielle Hale said sellers can expect to see plenty of buyers this winter.
Lawrence Yun, Chief Economist at the National Association of Realtors, agreed. He expects there will be more home sales this winter than there were prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.
That is good news for sellers, especially since CNN Business reported last week that the median price of single-family existing homes rose in 99% of the 183 markets tracked by employees at the National Association of Realtors.
According to leaders at the NAR, the typical home spent just one week on the market before going under contract between July 2020 and June 2021.
By comparison, in 2012, the average time on the market for a home was 11 weeks.
Some markets are hotter than others, as usual. Florida seems to be a hot spot for real estate transactions involving housing.
A shrinking inventory and inflation are being blamed.
A new report by Florida Realtors shows that some investors are willing to pay cash to participate in the market. Since Q4 2020, the percent change year-over-year for cash sales has been at least 20%.
In Q2 2021, that percent change over the year before was nearly 162%.
The typical median sale price for a single-family home in the state of Florida was $355,000 in Q3 2021.
For a townhouse or condo, the median sale price during the same time period was $254,900.
Under the Build Back Better Act, President Joe Biden’s signature social safety net and climate change bill, $150 billion will be invested in housing affordability and reducing price pressures, including in rural areas.
According to leaders at The White House, funds will go towards building, preserving, and improving more than 1 million affordable rental and single-family homes. Down payment assistance is expected to be available.