Election impact on homebuying, selling

By Dana Anderson | Redfin

Historically, home sales have remained relatively flat during presidential election seasons. We expect home sales to continue to grow this fall due to the coronavirus pandemic; we are forecasting more home sales in 2020 than in any year since 2006.

Twenty-two percent of homebuyers and sellers said the presidential election is impacting their plans to buy or sell a home, according to an August Redfin survey of more than 1,400 U.S. residents who plan to buy or sell a home in the next 12 months. That’s down from 32% in November 2019, per a similar Redfin survey. The drop from last year is likely due to the pandemic, which seems to be outweighing the election as a factor for homebuyers and sellers.

Thirteen percent of respondents to the August survey said the election is making them more hesitant to buy or sell a home, down from 20% in November 2019. Nine percent of respondents said the election is making them less hesitant to buy or sell a home, down from 12% in November. That’s unlikely to have a major impact on the housing market, partly because a portion of those people will probably buy and/or sell once the election has passed.

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