Have You Talked to a Real Estate Agent Lately? You may not get through by phone. According to Gord Collins at ManageCasa, “As the pandemic began to grip major cities in Pennsylvania, New York, and New Jersey, many able city dwellers started looking for rural safe havens. As a result, the real estate market in Wayne, Sullivan, Delaware, and Orange counties is so hot, local realtors are saying it’s exceeding any they’ve seen—comparable, if not more intense, than the post-9/11 real estate boom, when urban flight also created a weighty seller’s market.”
“It’s nonstop. Every agent that I know is working seven days a week,” said Lynne Freda, of Matthew J. Freda Real Estate. “There have been bidding wars like you can’t believe.” there was a 60 percent increase in buyers from July 1 to September 15, compared to the same timeframe in 2019. More than 1,300 homes sold in that timeframe.
It’s likely that were it not for limited inventory, that number of homes sold would be even higher. The housing inventory has decreased by 50 percent in the amount of housing inventory available to potential buyers. There aren’t enough houses for sale to meet the demand.
This uneven supply and demand has pushed the average sale price on a listing up 14 percent.
“A house in the pre-COVID-19 market [more than] $500,000 would have sat there quite some time. Now, a house in the high end—$500,000 to $1 million—it is getting looked at right away, and within a week, in many cases, it’s going into a multiple-offer situation,” said Freda.
“Some of the buyers that we’re dealing with, it’s very emotional for them to get their children out of the city where they can come and play outside and get fresh air and have a garden; go hiking on the Boy Scout trails,” said Dawn Curreri, of Eagle Valley
Two Different Rental Markets
There are two rental markets now: inner city and all the rest. Even multifamily property owners see divergent results depending on their buildings’ size and class and the income of their tenants. Older small buildings in inner cities (New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, etc.) may be worst as they’re fully vulnerable to the cancel rent movement, high vacancy rates, and ongoing eviction moratoriums of low-income tenants.
Outlook on Delawares Rental market
One survey of property managers, landlords, and investors found that almost 2/3rds are optimistic about the rental property sector going into 2021.
The Covid 19 shutdowns and stoppages combined with renter defaults, rising vacancy rates, stimulus withdrawal, and renter out-migration have brought significant changes to the property management sector. Inner-city properties are failing, but 2021 is a new year.
Outside of high-density areas, higher rent prices combined with a growing renter base (lack of home affordability) and new tech management efficiencies mean the rental housing sector might be at the right point for entry.
Interested in Buying?
If you’re interested in buying a home or investment property, please complete the form at this link
Jane Perillo
DelawareRealtyManagement.com
2700 Kirkwood Highway
Newark, DE 19711
(302) 995-2535
(302) 995-2550 fax
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