Keeping It REAL - by Bettsy Tyler

  What's in Store for the Real Estate Market?   While many areas of the economy have contracted, the housing market has been the bright spot and has stayed remarkably strong. When COVID-related shutdowns began in March, real estate brokers and clients scrambled to respond to the shift. Record-low interest rates caused some lenders to call a halt to new underwriting, and homeowners debated whether or not to put their houses on the market. However, those first days of uncertainty ushered in a period of unprecedented demand in the U.S. real estate market, which ended the year with increasing average home prices (up 13.4% from the previous year) and shrinking days on market (13 fewer than in 2019). 1 As the spring market approaches, you may be wondering if you’re a homeowner, should you take advantage of this opportunity? If you’re a buyer, should you jump in and risk paying too much? Below are some insights. How is today’s market different from the one that caused the 2...

Santa Cruz County Real Estate Sales - How do things compare to last year? Listings began to climb starting in February last year, a little earlier than usual, and reach almost 400 in April. April through September of last year (2019) there was an average of 350 new listings each month. Sales numbered about 240/month April through September. This year began stronger than last with February recording 340 new listings. Come March, however, new listings dropped to 278 and in April to 236. Sales dropped as well. Though it’s too early yet to see the Covid-19 effect, sales are definitely lower than last year at this time averaging about 160/month for March and April.  Having fewer new listings, it’s only natural to expect fewer sales. Taking a look at Months of Inventory is another way to measure what’s happening. Months of Inventory is a measure of how fast all the existing homes on the market would last assuming a) no more listings are added, and b) the rate...