May typically marks the start of the summer real estate season, with buyers and sellers taking advantage of nice weather and summer vacation to move. Of course, this year has been anything but typical.
So what does this mean for the San Antonio market right now?
New listings climbing. After a slower March for the market, we started to see new listings climb back up in April and this trend continued into May. This month, we saw 12% more single-family homes listed in San Antonio vs. last month, indicating that more and more sellers are feeling comfortable putting their home up for sale.
Inventory remains tight. While new listings are continuing to climb, overall housing inventory is still lower than we’d expect for this time of year. Pre-coronavirus, there was already a nationwide shortage of homes for sale compared with previous years. The existing shortage coupled with sellers sitting out towards the end of March and much of April meant fewer homes were for sale in May.
Buyer activity took off. The huge jump in home showing activity, as indicated in the graph below, shows us that buyer interest throughout the state has rebounded and surpassed levels seen before the pandemic. In the San Antonio area, the number of homes that went under contract in May 2020 was up 18% from April 2020.
For buyers, hundreds of new listings are hitting the market, but not at a rate that will close the inventory gap just yet. This means there are fewer homes on the market heading into June with more interested buyers entering the market each day. If you’re thinking about buying, having a competitive offer (such as a contingency-free offer, which you can make with Orchard) will help you stand out to sellers who may receive multiple bids.
For sellers, median home prices continue to remain stable, suggesting that most sellers are receiving offers close to their original list price. The average number of days a home was listed on the market before selling (DOM) was slightly up from 22 days last May to 28.5 days this year. This suggests that sellers are having to wait around one week longer to sell their home than was the case this time last year.
Social distancing measures (six-foot distance, gloves, masks, thorough cleaning between showings, etc.) will also still need to be implemented when anyone visits your home. With Orchard’s Buy & Sell service, we’ll take care of deep cleaning and listing your home after you move, so you can skip the stress of home showings.
For a deeper dive into the San Antonio area’s real estate recap for May 2020, read on.
New listings in May. Although down 16% from this month last year, listings are continuing to pick up each week. With over 800 new listings posted the week of May 11 alone, weekly new listings are nearing pre-coronavirus levels.
The average number of days (DOM) in May a listing was on the market before going under contract. This suggests that homes are being snapped up more quickly than last month when the average was 33 days.
Increase in homes that went under contract in May 2020 vs. April 2020. Once restrictions were lifted, buyer activity skyrocketed in May. Not only did more homes go under contract compared to last month, but homes under contract were also up 2% vs. this time last year.
“Now that stay-at-home orders have been lifted, we’ve seen interest in home showings and tours go up significantly. We’re fielding more interest in home tours each day and while not at pre-coronavirus levels yet, activity is steadily increasing.”
— Monica Winn, Orchard Home Advisor
Received an offer in under 3 weeks at 97% of list price!
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