Pandemic Perspective: North Idaho Housing Market compared to the Nation March 2020
Here is a look at National Pending Home Sales,* www.nar.realtor/pending-home-sales, a forward-looking indicator based on contract signings. Statistics from NAR are released one month later (March stats were release April 29, 2020)
National Pending Home Sales decreased in March year-over-year by 16.3%.
Regional Breakdown Pending Home Sales in March year-over-year:
The Northeast down 11.0% from March 2019.
The Midwest down 12.4% from March 2019.
The South down 17.8% from March 2019.
The West down 21.5% from March 2019.
Median US sales price was up 3.5% over March 2020.
According to Lawrence Yun, National Association of Realtor’s chief economist:
"The housing market is temporarily grappling with the coronavirus-induced shutdown, which pulled down new listings and new contracts. As consumers become more accustomed to social distancing protocols, and with the economy slowly and safely reopening, listings and buying activity will resume, especially given the record low mortgage rates."
"The usual Spring buying season will be missed, however, so a bounce-back later in the year will be insufficient to make up for the loss of sales in the second quarter," he said. "Overall, home sales (volume) are projected to have declined 14% for the year."
"Although the pandemic continues to be a major disruption in regards to the timing of home sales, home prices have been holding up well," Yun said. "In fact, due to the ongoing housing shortage, home prices are likely to squeeze out a gain in 2020 to a new record high. I project the national median home price to increase 1.3% for the year, though there will be local market variations and the upper-end market will likely experience a reduction in home price."
North Idaho Pending Home Sales (Based on Coeur d’Alene MLS)
Down 2% from March 2019
Median Sales Price up 10% from March 2019
Coeur d’Alene, Idaho was ranked #5 Hottest Market in Nation
Keep in mind, most housing markets in the nation, including North Idaho, did not see “stay at home” orders until midway through March.
It is expected that sales volume in April dropped significantly more with four weeks of “stay at home” compared to just two weeks in March.
We will brief you on the housing numbers for April at the end of May.