In December 2019, Realtor.com released a forecast for 2020, revealing its predictions for the housing market in 2020. As expected by George Raitu, Senior Economist at Realtor.com, the forecast got derailed which became obvious already in the first quarter of 2020. Realtor.com updated the forecast for the housing market in 2020, predicting serious drops in sales as uncertainty makes the main keyword in the housing market predictions after the COViD-19 outbreak left many businesses derailed and on halt. What Realtor.com expects to see in the housing market in 2020 after updating the forecast?
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Drops in Home Sales an Evident Part of 2020 Housing Market
With uncertainty brought to the global economy with the outbreak of COVID-19, Realtor.com updated the forecast for 2020 in the sector of the housing market. The prediction suggests that home sales should drop by -15% as the home prices are dipping. The original forecast had seen the same sector at a slight drop by -1.8%. Moreover, Realtor.com predicts that single-family housing will also drop, going down by -11%. Previously, Realtor.com expected to see the sector up by 10% in sales for 2020.
Realtor Claims 2020 is Marked with Uncertainty
As Raitu claims, 2020 brought many uncertainties, which is why the forecast has been radically changed since December 2019. One of the main factors of the year in the housing market is having millennials wanting to buy affordable homes and baby boomers that are not willing to sell. Upcoming elections also play a major role in determining the fate of the markets.
Increase in Sales Not Expected by the End of Q4 2020
Realtor.com economists claim that increases in sales in the sector of housing are less likely to happen anytime in 2020 before the fourth quarter. There should be a short-term bump in sales during summer and ahead of the fall as millennial families are looking to settle in new homes before the start of the new school year.
