Q: Has COVID-19 Pushed Us Into an Even Stronger Seller’s Market?

Raleigh Real Estate Podcast with Chris Gorman

The COVID-19 lockdown has turned us into an even stronger seller’s market. In the past couple of weeks, my team and I listed a couple of homes that were, in my estimation, slightly overpriced and had several other inherent issues. I expected these homes to take a while to sell and possibly require a price reduction or two. However, one of them sold in just a day, and the other sold in a week—both of them at or above asking price. This was proof that what we expected to happen to our market is happening. Before COVID-19 hit, our market had an inventory imbalance: There were too many buyers and not enough available homes. Now, that situation has been exacerbated. People are even more hesitant to list their homes, but buyers still want to buy. The bottom line is, I believe this is the best time in recent memory to put your home on the market. Granted, the fact that a home’s market value will likely far exceed its appraised value may cause appraisal issues for some sellers on the back end of their transactions, but homeowners are getting insane offers right now and the price escalation is heavy. “People are even more hesitant to list their homes, but buyers still want to buy.” On the flip side, the market you sell in is the market you buy in too, so you need to be ready for the challenges of being a buyer. It’s uncommon to sell for top dollar and buy at a discount in the very same market. The good news is, interest rates are very low—as low as 3.1% in some cases, which is basically free money. You may have to overpay for a house, but you’ll be able to borrow money at a cheaper rate. If the market continues on like this, the house you’re thinking of buying now will be even more expensive in a month or two, and competition among other buyers will be just as fierce. There’s no benefit to waiting to buy after you sell. I don’t foresee the market turning around any time soon, even if we do enter a recession. So if you are thinking of selling, give me a call and I’d be happy to provide you with a market analysis and let you know what your home will sell for. If you have any other real estate needs, feel free to reach out to me as well. I’m here to help.