Vice President and partner of Garrett Realty Partners, Collin has conquered real estate in just 13 years as a realtor, trainer, mentor.
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Since 2020 and the era of Covid-19, the world of real estate has seen another massive shift that has arguments going back and forth online and offline as to where the real estate market is headed. Is the real estate market headed for another crash? Will the seller’s market end soon? Nobody can predict the next move, but that doesn’t stop the speculation nor the debates from continuing to evolve as we see new changes each day. Is the new normal more unpredictable? Let’s explore why you may want to buckle up and be ready for a new shift at any time.
Real estate has had its cycles for as long as agents have been selling homes. When inventory is low and demand is high, you have what we call a seller’s market. When demand is low and inventory is high, we have a buyer’s market. These shifts between cycles have been in the range of five to seven years in most areas of the country for quite some time.
The first sign of change came in 2008 when the housing market crashed. After the crash, most of the United States witnessed a buyer’s market that lasted almost 12 years, which was out of the norm from previous cycles that were more stable in their predictability. Fast forward to the year 2020 when we were confronted with Covid-19, widespread lockdowns, historically low interest rates and a slow economy, and all of a sudden we were thrust into a seller’s market without any warning.
As we were watching, most areas of the country saw increases in prices, low inventory and bidding wars, leaving many buyers frustrated and spending more time and money to find their homes. Sellers have been seeing more money and easier terms in their home sales, giving them the benefits they had not been able to reach since the 2008 housing market crash. Now, through 2020 and into 2021, we have seen the seller’s market continue until around June 2021. That’s when sales started to slow, more inventory started to be put on the market and days on market started to get a little bit longer. Agents are speculating about what is happening. Opinions are varying and the stress is real for most agents I know. Not knowing and not being able to predict the next market move has made some agents rethink their careers, change brokerages and change the ways they are operating their business.
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So is the housing market going to crash again? Will the seller’s market continue? Will we get back to normal cycles of years past?
Who knows, really. The things to consider are simple: You can’t control the real estate market, so don’t try. Nobody has a crystal ball and can predict the future. Data can be mined and artificial intelligence can help us see trends and give us ideas, but isn’t perfect either. So when trying to predict the unpredictable, use common sense and cut out the noise, the marketers, the salespeople, the negative media and listen to your clients. Study your local area’s trends, know your area’s market, get involved with your community. Be a positive force in these unusual times and get used to the new normal. Real estate is and will continue to be unpredictable.
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