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Daily Archives: July 20, 2020
Home Shoppers are Trending Toward Buying Sight-Unseen, Selling Virtually
— Digital tools accelerated by COVID-19 shift attitudes toward the home buying and selling process
— A new Zillow survey finds 36 percent of Americans would be more likely to try to buy a home entirely online during the current coronavirus outbreak; 43 percent would be more likely to try to sell a home entirely online.
— In a departure from traditional practice, 1 out of 3 would prefer taking a virtual or video home tour instead of touring a home in person after the current coronavirus outbreak ends.
— For shoppers who want to tour a home in person, virtual tours will allow them to winnow down their options and save time attending showings or open houses.
Seattle, WA – July 16, 2020 (PRNewswire) Home buyers and sellers say they are more likely to make the purchase or sale of their biggest financial asset entirely online.
Digital tools widely adopted during the coronavirus pandemic are giving people the ability and the confidence to buy or sell a home in a tight real estate market where homes are selling at their fastest pace in two years. A new Zillow® survey finds consumer demand will likely keep those tools in place and lead to more online real estate transactions in the future.
Zillow’s survey1 finds more than a third of Americans (36%) say they are more likely to try to buy a home entirely online during the coronavirus pandemic, and 30 percent say after the current outbreak ends, they would do the same.
Even more Americans appear to be getting comfortable with the idea of selling a home virtually. During the pandemic, 43 percent say they are more likely to try to sell a home entirely online. When the current outbreak ends, 33 percent anticipate they would still be more likely to try and sell a home entirely online.
A majority of people still want to tour a home in person before committing their down payment. However, when asked to choose between taking an in-person or a virtual tour after the current outbreak has ended, one out of three say they would choose the virtual or video tour — a meaningful departure from traditional shopping behavior.
“The home shopping tradition of loading the family into the minivan and touring open houses all weekend may be over,” said Zillow economist Jeff Tucker. “Now shoppers are realizing they can use virtual tours to either skip in-person shopping, or at least to winnow down their options and visit fewer homes in person, making it easier and less time-consuming to find their next home. That speed advantage can give buyers a leg up in today’s fast-moving market. “
In a survey of select Zillow Premier Agents2, 64 percent report fewer in-person showings at least most of the time during the current coronavirus outbreak, and nearly a third (31%) anticipate that trend will continue after the outbreak is over.
Virtual and video tours are becoming the new standard. The creation of Zillow 3D Home virtual tours skyrocketed when stay-home orders went into effect, climbing more than 750 percent in one month and remaining at least three times as high in the months that followed. Of the surveyed3 Zillow Premier Agents, 86 percent said they started or continued to use virtual or video home tours during the coronavirus outbreak, and 72 percent said they are likely to continue providing those tours after the current outbreak has ended. A Zillow survey4 finds three out of four U.S. adults want the option to tour a home remotely through virtual or video technology if they were home shopping right now.
Home sellers also have high-tech options that allow them to sell almost entirely online. Homeowners in certain markets can request a cash offer with the click of a button from Zillow Offers. They can avoid the parade of strangers traipsing through their home during open houses or showings, and can opt for an all-digital closing.
Renters can search, find, apply for and lease a home digitally in a safer, end-to-end online transaction. Zillow Rental Manager is a one-stop rental transaction platform that handles tenant screening, lease signing and monthly payments online.
The Schwartz family went under contract to buy a home sight-unseen in the Nashville suburbs after COVID-19 prompted them to move their family out of New York City for more space.
“We didn’t feel safe getting on a plane so having these digital tools on Zillow allowed us to narrow down our search and find the right home for us and our 8-year-old son,” said Jarrod Schwartz, a sales manager. “After our real estate agent provided a video tour, we had the confidence to make an offer.”
Nashville-based Zillow Premier Agent Erin Krueger said her team has sold 10 homes sight-unseen during three months of shelter-at-home orders, twice as many as in all of 2019.
“People are realizing they can make some very big purchases from afar,” said Krueger, with the Erin Krueger Team at Compass. “Now we’re equipped with the systems and processes to serve our clients virtually when they can’t be there in person, and that’s absolutely been accelerated by the pandemic. Our clients are very happy with their new homes.”
About Zillow
Zillow, the top real estate website in the U.S., is building an on-demand real estate experience. Whether selling, buying, renting or financing, customers can turn to Zillow’s businesses to find and get into their next home with speed, certainty and ease.
In addition to for-sale and rental listings, Zillow Offers buys and sells homes directly in dozens of markets across the country, allowing sellers control over their timeline. Zillow Home Loans, our affiliate lender, provides our customers with an easy option to get pre-approved and secure financing for their next home purchase.
Millions of people visit Zillow Group sites every month to start their home search, and now they can rely on Zillow to help them finish it — with the same confidence, ease and empowerment they’ve come to expect from real estate’s most trusted brand.
Launched in 2006, Zillow is owned and operated by Zillow Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:Z and ZG) and headquartered in Seattle.
Zillow and Zillow Offers are registered trademarks of Zillow, Inc.
1 Data was collected by ZillowGroup Population Science from a survey of 2,600 U.S. adults recruited and interviewed between May 11th, 2020 and May 15th, 2020. Respondents were recruited from multiple general population internet respondent panels of U.S. adults from the contiguous United States. To promote the representativeness of the estimates, the sample data was weighted to align with key U.S. Census demographic benchmarks observed in the target population.
2 These results reflect the responses provided by a random sample drawn from Zillow Group’s Premier Agent Research Panel. While selection from the existing panel was random, membership in the panel is optional, and limited to current and former Zillow Agents. These results may not accurately reflect the entire population of Zillow agents nor real estate professionals as a whole.
3 These results reflect the responses provided by a random sample drawn from Zillow Group’s Premier Agent Research Panel. While selection from the existing panel was random, membership in the panel is optional, and limited to current and former Zillow Agents. These results may not accurately reflect the entire population of Zillow agents nor real estate professionals as a whole.
4 See footnote 1
SOURCE Zillow
RE/MAX National Housing Report for June 2020
Denver, CO – July 17, 2020 (PRNewswire) RE/MAX, LLC announced today June home sales posted a near-record 37% gain over a pandemic-impacted May while Months Supply of Inventory dropped below two months for the first time in the report’s 12-year history.
Overall, U.S. home sales returned to near seasonal levels – just 6.9% lower than last June, which was the third-highest sales month of 2019. All of the report’s 53 metro markets posted gains over May and a third of them topped last June. The June results were far different than those of May and April, which both reflected widespread stay-at-home mandates in many states.
“June home sales snapped back in a major way,” said Adam Contos, RE/MAX Holdings CEO. “With historically low interest rates, stabilizing unemployment and increased mobility tied to working remotely, buyer demand remains high in most areas of the country. We’re seeing positives in several leading indicators such as pending sales and mortgage applications.
“The biggest challenge continues to be lack of inventory, and over time we may see some gains around people wanting a different living environment after spending so much time at home this year. There’s also some potential in the idea that with changing workplace dynamics, underused commercial spaces could be transformed into residential properties. Creative solutions like that may provide some relief for inventory constraints as well as affordability issues.”
The 37% increase in sales from May to June was the third-highest month-over-month turnaround in the report’s history. The 12-year average for May-to-June sales increases is 8.4%.
Going in the opposite direction, inventory dropped 27.9% year over year, pushing the Months Supply of Inventory to 1.9 from the previous report low of 2.7 months set in May. The number of homes for sale is at low levels not seen consistently since early 2018.
June’s Median Sales Price of $275,000 is up 1.9% year over year, the lowest year-over-year price increase of any month since December 2018’s 0.4% price drop.
Days on Market averaged 45, the same as the previous June.
Closed Transactions
Of the 53 metro areas surveyed in June 2020, the overall average number of home sales is up 37% compared to May 2020, and down 6.9% compared to June 2019. Leading the year-over-year sales percentage increase were Tulsa, OK at +15.9%, Little Rock, AR at +14.6%, and Dallas/Ft Worth, TX at +9.3%.
Median Sales Price – Median of 53 metro median prices
In June 2020, the median of all 53 metro Median Sales Prices was $275,000, up 0.8% from May 2020, and up 1.9% from June 2019. Only one metro area, Des Moines, IA at -1.3%, saw a year-over-year decrease in Median Sales Price. Two metro areas increased year-over-year by double-digit percentages: Miami, FL at +11.1% and Indianapolis, IN at +10.0%.
Days on Market – Average of 53 metro areas
The average Days on Market for homes sold in June 2020 was 45, down one day from the average in May 2020, and equivalent to the average in June 2019. The metro areas with the lowest Days on Market were Omaha, NE at 22, Cincinnati, OH at 23, and Seattle, WA at 25. The highest Days on Market averages were in Des Moines, IA at 90, Miami, FL at 88, and New York, NY at 85. Days on Market is the number of days between when a home is first listed in an MLS and a sales contract is signed.
Months Supply of Inventory – Average of 53 metro areas
The number of homes for sale in June 2020 was down 5.3% from May 2020 and down 27.9% from June 2019. Based on the rate of home sales in June 2020, the Months Supply of Inventory decreased to 1.9 compared to 2.7 in May 2020, and decreased compared to 3.2 in June 2019. A six months supply indicates a market balanced equally between buyers and sellers. In June 2020, of the 53 metro areas surveyed, zero metro areas reported a months supply at or over six, which is typically considered a buyer’s market. The markets with the lowest Months Supply of Inventory were Manchester, NH at 0.7, and a tie between Albuquerque, NM and Boise, ID at 0.8.
For specific data in this report or to request an interview, please contact mediarelations@remax.com.
About the RE/MAX Network
As one of the leading global real estate franchisors, RE/MAX, LLC is a subsidiary of RE/MAX Holdings (NYSE: RMAX) with over 130,000 agents in more than 110 countries and territories. Nobody in the world sells more real estate than RE/MAX, as measured by residential transaction sides. Dedicated to innovation and change in the real estate industry, RE/MAX launched Motto Mortgage, a ground-breaking mortgage franchisor, in 2016 and acquired booj, a real estate technology company, in 2018. RE/MAX agents have lived, worked and served in their local communities for decades, raising millions of dollars every year for Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals® and other charities. To learn more about RE/MAX, to search home listings or find an agent in your community, please visit www.remax.com. For the latest news about RE/MAX, please visit news.remax.com.
Description
The RE/MAX National Housing Report is distributed each month on or about the 15th. The first Report was distributed in August 2008. The Report is based on MLS data in approximately 53 metropolitan areas, includes all residential property types, and is not annualized. For maximum representation, many of the largest metro areas in the country are represented, and an attempt is made to include at least one metro from each state. Metro area definitions include the specific counties established by the U.S. Government’s Office of Management and Budget, with some exceptions.
Definitions
Transactions are the total number of closed residential transactions during the given month. Months Supply of Inventory is the total number of residential properties listed for sale at the end of the month (current inventory) divided by the number of sales contracts signed (pended) during the month. Where “pended” data is unavailable, this calculation is made using closed transactions. Days on Market is the number of days that pass from the time a property is listed until the property goes under contract for all residential properties sold during the month. Median Sales Price is the median of the median sales prices in each of the metro areas included in the survey.
MLS data is provided by contracted data aggregators, RE/MAX brokerages and regional offices. While MLS data is believed to be accurate, it cannot be guaranteed. MLS data is constantly being updated, making any analysis a snapshot at a particular time. Every month the RE/MAX National Housing Report re-calculates the previous period’s data to ensure accuracy over time. All raw data remains the intellectual property of each local MLS organization.
SOURCE RE/MAX, LLC