The coronavirus caused a significant decline in the number of homes available for sale last year. It didn’t, however, reduce the number of interested buyers. That combination – high buyer demand and low for-sale inventory – caused prices to rise, competition to intensify, and houses to sell quickly. But, according to the National Association of Home Builders latest Housing Trends Report, market conditions didn’t hurt buyers’ optimism. In fact, at the end of 2020, prospective home buyers were more optimistic about their upcoming home search than they were at the end of 2019. Survey results showed 37 percent of potential buyers said they expect their home search will get easier in the months ahead. That’s a significant improvement over the year before, when just 23 percent said they expected an easier time finding a home. Similarly, 54 percent said it would be the same or harder to find a home, which is a big drop from the 65 percent who said the same in 2019. In short, home buyers are optimistic that inventory will improve over the coming months and help bring more balance to the market. (source)
