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In a down turned economy, contrarian real estate investing offers profit to investors who take action based on strategies that are "opposite" to the masses of people who follow conventional wisdom.
People invest in real estate from an emotional point of view. It is not simply a transaction, there are real emotions tied to whether you have timed the purchase of your investment right.
Understanding this cycle and taking a contrarian approach can greatly assist you in determining the motivation of the seller, which in turn can benefit you when negotiating a purchase price. If the fundamentals are correct, but the positioning of the masses in the emotional cycle has most people holding off, smart investors taking a contrarian approach reap the benefits.
A strong example of this can be seen from real estate investors who took advantage of the opportunity of low prices in Nevada during 2010-2013.
How much will the market slow? The National Association of Realtors estimated a 10 percent reduction in sales for 2020.
The true number could be higher, depending on how fast unemployment rises and how quickly people return to work.
March started out as a strong month for the U.S. housing market - but by the second half of the month, the first indications that the coronavirus pandemic was reducing home selling activity began to emerge.
In the weeks ending March 21 and March 28, the number of newly-listed properties fell by 13.1% and 34% respectively when compared with the same period a year ago, Realtor.com found.
And other recent reports have shown additional signs of a slowdown in the housing market. LendingTree released an analysis of Google search data analyzing the popularity of the search term "homes for sale" across the country. Searches for "homes for sale" have fallen across all 50 cities in the study from their peak levels in 2020 thus far. LendingTree estimated that these Google searches could drop some 63% compared with last year.
Another sign that home sales will slump this spring: Mortgage applications. The volume of mortgage applications for loans used to purchase homes was down 24% compared with a year ago for the week ending March 27, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association. That's in spite of mortgage rates being near historic lows.
Before the coronavirus pandemic flared up, the U.S. housing market was on solid footing. While the number of homes for sale remained low - constraining sales activity to an extent - demand among buyers was still quite high. Low mortgage rates had fueled an early start to the spring home buying season, with homes selling four days faster in March when compared with 2019.
As of this writing, buyers are still buying homes and sellers are still selling. However, activity is at a minimum and done under strict coronavirus guidelines.
We should take a hard stance for ALL OF US to STAY HOME until the experts advise it is no longer necessary.
The minute that people are allowed to take physical tours of homes for sale in a traditional way, the market is going to boom.
We are entering what is usually the busiest season of real estate, that usually lasts through the end of the summer. With pent up demand I am feeling that this year the busy season will last through the fall.
In the meantime, use virtual tours and online tools search properties that interest you. Get online, browse properties, and get excited about something that's going to be there when this nightmare ends.
Contact me anytime with any questions that you have.
Stay home - technology has us covered.
As soon as our world begins to shifts back into normal, we can get together and tour some properties.
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