The Burke & Co. Weekly Market Report for Avalon, Sea Isle, and Stone Harbor– Week ending November 21, 2020
Is the sleepy season upon us? Historically, the stretch from Thanksgiving through New Year’s Day is the slowest span of time for buying throughout the year. Our listings this week bear testament to this. You’ll see more sold and settled properties than either new listings or under contract.
There is an emerging debate in the offices of shore realtors with two schools of thought interpreting 2020 and trying to cast an accurate prediction for 2021.
The first school of thought believes that we may have seen the greatest intensity in buying already. They argue that much of what occurred in 2020 was emotionally and circumstantially driven. Sure, low interest rates may have contributed, but this school holds that the larger driving factor was an emotional response to fewer options in life. Home became the center of things and a second home became the ultimate luxury. They point at strong performances in home stores like Home Depot and Lowe’s as well as a boom in home redesign and remodeling. These realtors think that the type of people who reacted to a one-off event like COVID with the idea that they should buy a shore home have already done it. When you couple this with a likely boom in listings this spring as some home owners will be tempted by the dramatic rise in prices that occurred, they see the possibility that there could be a slow down. And a vaccine adds relief to the market in this scenario. After a year where the shore was for many the only place to get away, some think consumers will prefer other options like exotic travel again. This line of thinking is probably the most dominant in the offices themselves, on the ground so to speak.
The second school of thought is aligned with predictions from experts surveilling the real estate market from a higher vantage point. Many believe the intense activity is a direct result of historically low interest rates. There is no indication anything will cause those rates to rise throughout the full course of 2021. When you combine this with likely early 2021 federal stimulus because of a tough COVID winter, you have the major ingredients for an expansive economy and perhaps a factor which has been little seen for decades now: inflation. Some point to both key indicators as well as anecdotal evidence that we are already seeing more drastic inflation than we have been accustomed. If this school of thought has the correct read, we might be in an environment where buyers feel they cannot wait. The goal always moves further away if you do. 2021 would then follow 2020 with a bang almost equal to or exceeding its predecessor.
If you are ready to start your plans to buy or sell, call us at our team line at 609-478-0333 or email [email protected]
And of course, take a look at all of this weeks new listings, under contract, and sold homes with these links.
Avalon- New Listings and Price Changes (3), Under Contract (5), Sold and Settled (12)
Sea Isle- New Listings and Price Changes (9), Under Contract (7), Sold and Settled (10)
Stone Harbor- New Listings and Price Changes (3), Under Contract (1), Sold and Settled (7)
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