Will the Charleston market turn around this year given the pandemic?
I know that many of you are wondering whether the Charleston market will turn around this year considering the state of the economy due to the pandemic. Clearly, the economy went on pause with the initial outbreak. I don’t think we’ve ever seen anything like this before.
Major financial institutions like Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, Morgan Stanley, and others are predicting a rapid V-type recovery of our economy, where the economy bounces back up just as quickly as it declined. Historic analysis shows that pandemics are usually V-shaped, and typically recover from any damage quickly enough to avoid long-term effects to home prices. Some cutting-edge analysis done by our information management team has shown that the current slowdown has played out very similarly to that so far.
The Harvard Business Review is saying that it’s worth looking back at history to place the potential impact of COVID-19. In fact, V-shapes monopolize the empirical landscape of prior shocks, including epidemics such as SARS, the 1968 H3N2 flu, the 1958 H2N2 flu, and the 1916 Spanish flu.
Everybody has been asking us if we’re going into a recession. My response is that we might be, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that we’re heading into a housing crisis. According to Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae, and their home pricing index, with the exception of two recessions—the Great Recession of 2008 and the Gulf War Recession of 1990-91—no other recession has impacted the U.S. housing market. This information has been collected from 1975 up to the current year.
Let’s take a look back at the last five economic downturns. We’ve only had housing prices decline twice—once in 1991 when home prices declined by 1.9%, and in 2008, there was a three-year period of decline where the highest rate was 19.7%.
So what does that mean you should do right now? Well, you should have a market analysis completed for you to keep you updated with the data and information you need to make a great decision. You also need to prepare your home, get maximum exposure, and attract buyers to it. Try to have a solid negotiation strategy at the ready.
It’s just as critical to work with a team who can support you in all of that. Here at the Dave Friedman Team, our No. 1 goal is your safety, and we always put your interests first throughout the buying or selling process. We’ve had to change about 95% of our process to continue to help buyers and sellers stay successful and safe during this time.
The process starts by scheduling a virtual consultation to meet with you and talk about your needs and develop a customized marketing plan. We’ll also set up a virtual staging appointment with our professional stager to give you all of the advice that you need to prepare your home for sale. Even more, we’ll give you a list of things that are (and aren’t) worth spending your money on during that pursuit.
Technology has become a huge part of the process as well. We’ll leverage our high-definition photography, virtual tours, and 3D imagery to put your home at the top of 400 websites. We’ll use all kinds of software that allow us to identify the ideal buyers for your home as well as their Realtors. Right now, buyer demand is strong, and people are waiting for more inventory to become available.
The bottom line is that if you’re thinking about putting your home on the market, let’s connect today. There’s a good chance that an eager buyer is looking for a home just like yours. Give me a call or send an email and let’s discuss what it will take for you to find success.
