MarketWatch reports a rush to buy new homes in the summer of 2020.
“Sales of previously-owned homes in the U.S. rose 24.7% between June and July to a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 5.86 million, the National Association of Realtors reported Friday. Not only did the percentage increase represent a record, but the sales volume was the highest the U.S. has seen since 2006.
“It’s a stunning turnaround from just a few months earlier when the coronavirus pandemic caused record-breaking decreases in sales as Americans were staying home to avoid getting sick.”
““The housing market is on a sugar high brought on by government stimulus and a pandemic-fueled rush to low density housing,” said Daren Blomquist, vice president of market economics at Auction.com, a real-estate website for foreclosure sales.”
It makes sense that people want to leave densely populated areas, because that’s where infectious diseases spread the easiest. The article also mentions historically low interest rates, but higher prices due to competition and not enough supply.
A related story in MarketWatch is written by a Silicon Valley tech worker who learned he can now remote work indefinitely. Housing in America’s big metro areas is still outrageously expensive, even more so than the new in-demand housing elsewhere.
“The pandemic has forced lots of people to rethink their living arrangements. Faced with the prospect of working from home for many, many more months to come, major cities like New York and San Francisco are seeing an exodus of folks moving to the suburbs.
“And still more people are looking for cheaper housing in light of the pandemic-fueled economic downturn. Even before COVID-19, high-cost housing markets like where you live in San Jose were seeing people leave simply because it got to be too expensive.”
This video from the YouTube channel Alux.com lists reasons to escape the big cities for suburbs, small towns, and the suburbs. Not mentioned are the political corruption and riots unleashed in 2020.
