And Other Realities for Buyers and Sellers in our Utah Real Estate Market

So here we are. A virus has changed the world and we are all trying to make sense of our new normal. 

 

If you planned on buying or selling a home this year, you might be feeling a little unsure right now. Rubber gloves, masks, social distancing – this is something we’re all becoming accustomed to, but are home sales actually moving forward? Is there any buyer demand? 

 

Yes, people still need homes. Life events, job changes and other drivers of the real estate market are still occurring, even in light of the current world events. 

 

Here is what we’ve experienced in our market the last few weeks as our new real estate landscape takes shape. 

 

1. Homes are still selling

If you look at year-over-year sales, it is not at all surprising total sales are suddenly lower. But homes are still selling. And in certain neighborhoods, it is still a very tight market with low inventory and high demand. 

 

For a sampling, let’s look at single family homes in the 84121 zip code, priced between $400,000 – $700,000. 

 

In the last 2 weeks: 

14 homes were listed for sale. 

11 homes received offers. 

 

In just the last 7 days: 

10 homes were listed for sale.  

6 homes received offers – 4 of which were on the market for 10 days or less.

 

In total, there are only 35 homes available for sale, and 27 homes that are currently under contract with offers, within the parameters of 84121.

 

And here’s the real punchline: In the last 30 days, 37 homes in total have sold or received an offer, which means given the whopping total of 35 homes available, that equates to 0.95 months of inventory. 

 

You read that right. We have less than 1 month of supply of single family homes, priced between $400,000 – $700,000 in all of 84121 right now. 

 

That is a very, very tight market with extreme buyer demand driven by very low inventory. 

 

Utah was widely known to be experiencing a housing shortage prior to the pandemic, and the current numbers from our sampling indicates that both the shortage and demand are still present. 

 

2. You Can Still Tour Homes, but Open Houses are Less Frequent  

Open houses are allowed here in Utah, but not every seller, or agent, feels comfortable about holding them. And not every buyer wants to attend one, even if it is conducted with preventative measures in place. Overall, we probably will not see as many open houses this spring and summer, even as social distancing guidelines are slowly lifted.

 

So how do you see a home? Virtual and real-time tours are widely available, and when you want to see a home in person, most folks will work together to do it so showings are private and risks are minimized. 

 

We’ve found that although buyer tour requests have slowed a bit the last few weeks, the request for tours from serious buyers remains strong. This indicates to us that a lot of the causal shopping that is part of our industry has paused, but the real buyers who are really shopping for homes are still there. 

 

What’s important to remember is that each home, each person, and each situation is unique. If you’re shopping and there is a home you want to tour, it is possible. It just takes some patience and cooperation so that everyone remains safe. 

 

3 There Will Be Delays 

We’re in uncharted territory and nobody is exempt. If you need to sell, or need to buy, we would strongly advise to give yourself plenty of time to complete the transaction in this current market. We find that some sales are as smooth as ever, and some hit a few road bumps. Plan accordingly for delays and have patience. Allow yourself some float time if you can. 

 

4 Nobody Knows For Sure  

Will there be a lot of foreclosures next year? Short sales again? Huge price drops, or a fast strong recovery in June? As of today, we really don’t know for sure. Nobody does. The timeline of this pandemic-driven economic crisis is still unknown. But so far, home prices have remained steady, which are supported by some of the best interest rates in history. 

 

We are comfortable looking at the numbers and giving our opinion on how the market currently looks right now. So if you want real insight on what is happening in your neighborhood, drop us a quick line and we’ll analyze it for you. 

 

We hope you and yours are staying well and staying healthy during this time.