March started out strong for the real estate market, but the second half of the month indicated what the near future holds.
Newly listed properties fell by 13.1% and 34%, respectively, when compared with the same period a year ago, Realtor.com found.
Home list prices were only up 3.3% year-over-year for the week ending March 21, and 2.5% for the following week. This is the slowest pace of listing price growth since Realtor.com started tracking this data in 2013.
Forecasters remain hopeful in the face of COVID-19 and expect a quick return to normal once the state and national regulations have been lifted.
“Unlike in the 2000s, the housing market in the U.S. is not overbuilt, Fleming argued, making it less likely that a large swath of vacant properties will crater the home values for homeowners. Rising home values and stricter lending standards have also meant that homeowners are sitting on historically high amounts of home equity.”