Just a quick note to everyone here….. first off, I hope you are doing well, staying safe and mentally positive and strong during this unique time in our lives.
Second, while the future feels still uncertain, we did see very positive signs for a V-shaped recovery in the housing market in the month of May vs April and March, indicating that people are buying homes and want to make moves for their family, and get situated so we can better deal with the future, secure in our home base.
Without further delay, here are the numbers:
May 2020 real estate stats for our area, Long Beach, California, in a nutshell:
Number of residential properties on the market (active listings): On Monday June 1, 2020 as I’m writing this: 459 active listings, up slightly from a month ago on May 3 at 438, and compared with April 1 which had 381 active homes for sale. Inventory is steadily increasing, reflecting sellers feeling more confident that there are buyers in the market looking for homes like theirs.
Number of residential properties that went under contract in May 2020: 244 vs 146 in April and 196 in March 2020 and 251 in February 2020 – significantly more homes went under contract in May compared to April and March, and we have rebounded to pre-Covid February levels! This is the most exciting statistic we observed in May, and that was that the buyers were back and ready to make offers and sellers were ready to accept them, at the levels we saw in February before the Coronavirus related shut-downs. We are seeing a V-shaped recovery for new pending sales. An average of 8 homes a day went under contract in May 2020, vs only 5 homes a day in April.
This observation can be seen throughout Los Angeles county, not just in Long Beach!
Number of residential properties that closed in May 2020: 163 homes closed in May, vs 219 homes closed in April and 229 in March and 228 in February. The drop in closings, which is a lagging indicator, reflects the low numbers of new pending sales in mid-March and April, which closed 30-45 days later in May. So again, the low point in our chart right now is that first 45 days of the shut-down, from mid-March to almost all of April
Average price of property sold in Long Beach in May 2020: $696,979 vs $661,264 last month. Average sales prices grew in the month of March, as a result of low interest rates which increased the number of buyers (increased demand), as well as buyer borrowing capacity, and shortage of homes for sale (decreased supply).
Conclusions
Overall, the real estate market in May was up in volume, as more buyers returned to the market, taking advantage of the low interest rate environment and making the move from renting to first time home ownership, and shifting from condos to single family houses. New pending sales in May of 2020 increased 67% from the previous month. Yes, you read that right – and I did punch it into the calculator 2 times in order to make sure I got the numbers right – but yes, 244 minus 146 and then divided by 146 is indeed 67% increase from last month’s new pending sales!
So while many people think the real estate market during the Covid-19 era is at a standstill, it is not, and in the last 31 days, approximately 8 homes have been selling each and every calendar day.
If you or anyone you know is in any of the following situations:
- Living in a condo and need more space, and more distance from neighbors, and want to buy a house
- Living in an apartment and rents are higher than ever, and you want to own your own home, maybe a condo to start
- Own a rental property and it is sitting vacant due to reduced renters
- Own an AirBnB and it is sitting vacant due to reduced travel
- Want to buy a property and take advantage of historically low interest rates
Please call me anytime, and we can schedule a time to speak face to face, whether it is in your home, my office, or virtually on Zoom meeting (face to face on the computer!) – I can share with you what I am doing to get my clients moved safely and successfully in the current times.
Thank you for reading and have a safe and positive June.
Nancy
Nancy Deprez
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