As if an election year isn’t action filled enough, throw in a Global Pandemic why don’t ya! 2020 will forever be remembered as one of the most challenging years in American History. What does all this mean for home values? Solid question. As I’ve stated before, the Pandemic has not really effected real estate. Matter of fact, the housing market is exceeding pre-pandemic levels. Demand is stronger than it’s ever been and according to the National Association of Realtors, and home sales are predicted to be up over 1% from last year. Having all of that in mind, we move on to the question at hand, how will the Presidential Election impact Real Estate?
Look back at it
It’s important to look back at the past years to see how prior elections have effected the real estate market. In general, we see a decrease in homes coming on the market once November hits, about a 10% decline to be precise. The reason being many families don’t want to be bothered with moving over the holidays! However, according to experts, when looking at election years in particular, the decline jumps to 15%! This happens because of the uncertainty people feel. In another study by Meyer’s Research and Zonda, it’s suggested the year after an election year is the best four year cycle.
“This suggests that demand for new housing is not lost because of election uncertainty, rather it gets pushed out to the following year as long as the economy stays on track.”
aLi wolf | Chief economist
Does it matter who’s elected?
Sure, to some degree. Consumer confidence plays a large role in most buyers desire to buy a home. According to a BTIG Article “Republican (“red”) voters report much higher consumer confidence levels than Democrats (“blue” voters) and have done so since the 2016 election.” While this may be true, regardless of the candidate elected, overall sales should not be heavily impacted.
Bottom line
With a huge selling season (Summer) being practically skipped over, there are going to be many pent up Sellers come 2021. If interest rates continue to stay low (as they’re predicted to), 2021 should be a great year for real estate. Make sure you stay up to date with the real estate market & subscribe to my bi-weekly email list!
