By Kathleen Howley | Housing Wire
The deadliest pandemic in more than a century has failed to derail the housing market because of the lowest mortgage rates ever recorded coupled with a shift in how people use their homes.
“The buyers are coming in because of the low interest rates – that’s the No. 1 reason,” said Lawrence Yun, chief economist of the National Association of Realtors said in an interview with HousingWire. “The secondary demand is coming from the work-at-home phenomenon that has people looking for bigger homes and caring less about commuting time.”
People now see their home not only as a place to live, but as a shelter during a national health crisis, Yun said. It’s also an office and, for families with children, often a part-time school.
“Housing demand has jumped upward because of historically low mortgage interest rates. I’m not certain that buyers are looking for larger homes, though, because they are spending more time at home.
– Jim Belfiore, Real Estate Consultant
Our research suggests they are moving outward in the Metro Phoenix Area, to further-out suburbs and exurbs because prices have skyrocketed this year. Of course, buyers can attain more housing in these more affordable areas, but it is rising prices that is pushing them out and into larger homes rather than a desire for more housing because of the pandemic.”
