New numbers from the National Association of Realtors show homes for sale sold quickly in April. In fact, the typical property was on the market for just 27 days, with 56 percent of homes selling in less than a month. But while homes for sale didn't stay on the market long, the total number of sales tumbled from one month earlier. According to the report, April sales fell 17.8 percent from the month before and are now down 17.2 percent year-over-year. The monthly decline was the largest since July 2010, when sales fell 22.5 percent. Lawrence Yun, NAR's chief economist, said the coronavirus-related lockdowns were responsible for the drop. “The economic lockdowns – occurring from mid-March through April in most states – have temporarily disrupted home sales,” Yun said. “But the listings that are on the market are still attracting buyers and boosting home prices.” That means, though the coronavirus has had a significant impact on sales and inventory, the balance of buyers and sellers has remained relatively unchanged. For example, at the current sales pace, there was about a 4.1-month supply of unsold homes in April - which is roughly the same as last April, despite a nearly 20 percent drop in inventory

Affordability is always a top concern for buyers. After all, when you're thinking about buying a home, there are few considerations more important than whether or not you can afford it. So how has the coronavirus affected affordability and what does it mean for prospective buyers? Well, according to a new analysis from the National Association of Realtors, the numbers look good for home shoppers. In fact, homes listed for sale during the first quarter of 2020 were 8 percent more affordable compared to the same period in 2019. Danielle Hale, chief economist for the group's consumer website, says the COVID pandemic has lowered mortgage rates and allowed buyers to get a better deal. “The lack of affordable homes for sale has been the No. 1 issue facing home buyers for the last several years,” Hale said. “The COVID pandemic has eased the affordability side of the equation by lowering interest rates, but it has also prompted many sellers to delay listing their homes. As buyers return, we'll need to see sellers come back for the housing market to normalize.” That's true. For example, the report shows that out of every 1,000 households just eight were listed for sale. That's a considerable drop from the long-term average which is 17 listings per 1,000 households. 

Naturally, the coronavirus and efforts to slow its spread have affected the housing market. Early on, surveys showed home sellers were more pessimistic about conditions than buyers were. As a result, the number of homes for sale took a hit, as homeowners who had planned to sell this spring delayed their plans and took a wait-and-see attitude. But new data from the National Association of Realtors' consumer website shows that the number of new listings is starting to improve. While still far below last year's levels, the volume of newly listed properties has gone from being down 43 percent at the end of April to being 29 percent below year-before levels as of last week. At this point, more than two thirds of large metropolitan areas have improved. That improvement offers hope that more gains could be on the horizon. Danielle Hale, chief economist for the site, says it's a positive sign, though there's still a long way to go. “While new listings are still declining on a yearly basis, last week's jump shows some sellers are ready for a summer home sale – a positive sign for the market,” Hale said. “But despite this uptick, time on market continues to increase and there's a long road ahead to getting back to last year's pace of new sellers.

The coronavirus hasn't just changed the way we shop for homes. It's also changed where we shop for homes. In fact, according to new data from one consumer real estate portal, prospective home buyers have been showing increasing interest in moving away from city centers and into less densely populated areas. For example, views of homes in small towns were up 105 percent year-over-year during the week ending May 1. In rural counties, page views climbed 76 percent. The surge in interest is even more impressive when compared to the significantly smaller 16 percent increase in views for homes in urban areas with populations of more than 1 million people. This can be partly explained by concern over the virus, though another explanation would be that an increasing number of Americans are now primarily working from home and free to move further from the office. But will this trend continue? Well, it's hard to say but interest in rural counties, while still surging, was far higher in April, when views spiked 170 percent year-over-year.

Everyone knows you shouldn't judge a book by its cover. But while that's definitely true for books, it isn't necessarily the case for homes. The outside of a house can tell a prospective home buyer a lot about how well a house has been maintained. That's why, the Appraisal Institute recommends homeowners improve their home's exterior and landscaping, if they want to increase its value. “A home with lackluster landscaping or an exterior in desperate need of a fresh coat of paint will likely be unappealing to prospective buyers and ultimately could affect the home's potential resale value,” Jefferson L. Sherman, president of the Appraisal Institute, says. The institute recommends removing weak, old, or damaged trees, keeping landscape design in line with comparable properties in the area, and taking care of your lawn. And, since the National Association of Realtors says standard lawn care services recover 267 percent of their cost at resale, there's no excuse not to. Other landscape maintenance projects that recoup all, or most, of their cost include tree care and irrigation system installation

Approximately one in four of the 54.7 million mortgaged homes in the United States was considered equity rich in the first quarter of 2020, according to new numbers from ATTOM Data Solutions. Equity rich refers to when the amount owed on a property is 50 percent or less of the property's value. Conversely, just one in 15 homes was considered seriously underwater. Todd Teta, chief product officer with ATTOM, said while homeowners were in a strong position at the beginning of the year, the coronavirus could potentially affect their standing as time goes on. “In the latest marker of the ongoing housing market boom, mortgage payers were four times as likely to have homes worth considerably more than what they owed on their loans than considerably less,” Teta said. “But as with other rosy first-quarter reports, this one needs to be taken in the context of the looming impact of the coronavirus pandemic. With the potential for home values to fall, there is a significant chance that equity levels could drop over the coming months while underwater levels rise.” Still, the combination of low for-sale inventory and pent-up buyer demand suggests home prices will remain firm and any declines will be moderate

Everybody knows location is important in real estate. But, if you've got a home to sell, when you do it makes a difference too. And while experts will tell you that trying to time the market is a mistake, there are certain times of year that are undeniably better for home sellers than others. For example, ATTOM Data Solutions has released a new analysis that pinpoints the time of year when sellers get the highest premium for their homes. The results show home sellers that list their homes in May, June, or July see a seller premium between 7 and 10 percent. Todd Teta, ATTOM's chief product officer, says late spring and early summer are always peak months – though this year may be different. “Timing the housing market is far from an exact science,” Teta said. “But home sellers who want to get the highest price should aim to complete their deals during the peak house-hunting season in late spring or early summer, when the most potential buyers are out looking. This year could be a striking exception if many potential home buyers stay home because of coronavirus social distancing or worries about job security.” The analysis found that 20 of the best days of the year for home sellers were in May and June, with June 21, 22, and 29 in a three-way tie for highest seller premium at 10.5 percent.

Typically, economic forecasts rely on a mix of current and historical data. After all, if you understand where things are today and what's happened in the past, you can make an educated guess about what the future might look like. This becomes harder, though, when there aren't obvious historical precedents to use for comparison. Despite this, Freddie Mac's most recent quarterly forecast attempts to predict how well the housing market will endure the economic impact of the coronavirus. So what do they see? Well, according to Sam Khater, Freddie Mac's chief economist, we may begin to see a rebound during the second half of the year. “Undoubtedly, the housing market is facing its greatest challenge in over a decade as our nation weathers this unprecedented economic event,” Khater said. “Although the uncertainty of the crisis means forecasts of economic activity are more unclear than usual, we expect that most of the economic damage from the virus will be contained to the first half of the year. Going forward, we should see a recovery starting in the second half of 2020, though it will take some time for the economy to fully bounce back.” Specifically, Freddie Mac sees home sales and price increases slowing this year before rebounding in 2021.

When thinking about the costs of homeownership, there are some big-ticket items that get most of the attention. But while prospective buyers focus on their potential mortgage payment, the price of the home, and possible renovations and maintenance projects, they're less likely to think about property taxes. That's a mistake, especially since taxes aren't fixed and can vary depending on where you buy. In other words, it's a good idea to investigate what the taxes will be on the home you're thinking about purchasing. So what should home buyers expect to pay? Well, according to a new report from ATTOM Data Solutions, there were $306.4 billion levied on single-family homes in 2019. That's up 1 percent from the year before and an average amount of $3,561 per home. Todd Teta, says though taxes went up, they rose less than usual last year. “Property taxes levied on homeowners rose again in 2019 across most of the country,” Teta said. “But the nationwide increase was the smallest in the last three years, a sign that cities, towns, and counties are taking stronger steps to clamp down on how much they hit up property owners to support schools and local government services.” The report found taxes highest in Illinois, New Jersey, Texas, Vermont, and Connecticut. Hawaii, Alabama, Colorado, Utah, and Nevada had the lowest effective property tax rates.

Spring is typically the housing market's busiest season. Mostly, that's because warmer weather and the chance for families to move and get settled in between school years makes it an opportune time to pack up and start somewhere new. This year, though, the coronavirus, social distancing, and stay-at-home orders have disrupted the start of the spring selling season. So what happens to all those potential buyers and sellers with plans to enter the market this spring? Well, according to Lawrence Yun, the National Association of Realtors' chief economist, they're more likely to put their plans on hold than to cancel them. “We are in uncertain times, but I do think that people who are staying at home right now, once the all-clear signal is given, will be going back into the market,” Yun told Housing Wire. In short, the housing market got off to a strong start this year and those buyers and sellers who were ready to make a move will still be ready once things return to normal. The combination of a market well positioned to weather the storm and a high level of pent-up demand means we can reasonably expect spring sales will be delayed till later in the year rather than canceled altogether.