Home Buyer Trends Shifting During Pandemic
The real estate market is always shifting.
Even when it seems like it’s headed in one direction, there are a number of factors and influences that cause buyer activity to ebb and flow. This year is no exception to that, and we’re noticing a few strong trends caused by the Covid 19 pandemic.
You’ve been cooped up at home for months. The kids are now home for distance learning. And you’ve found you and your family working from home more regularly. It’s no surprise that buyers are targeting larger homes. The pain of using a dining room for you work space has finally taken its toll, and after the latest Zoom call, you’re fed up with the sub-optimal workspace you’ve put up with for months. Buyers are reacting by upping their square footage of homes. Since the beginning of 2019 both average and median size have gone up approximately 100 square feet. For most in need of a little extra space, this can be a perfect dedicated work space or an extra bedroom to set up a more permanent work from home situation.
Sacramento has hot summers. If you’re not spending a good part of the hot months at the river or lakes, chances are you’re poolside somewhere. Luckily lots of parks in the area have public pools, or maybe you’ve made a new bestie who has one at their place. This is a trend we’re seeing rise in the home sales market. According to Sacramento Appraisal Blog, homes with pools have seen a slight increase this year. It makes sense too—if you’re going to be locked down anywhere and can’t travel, you might as well create your own oasis at home. We’ve seen appraisers offer anywhere from $10-20k of extra value on properties with pools, so sellers with this feature will likely be able to sell for more than their neighbors without one.
After several years of watching home buyers migrate from LA and Bay Area counties to the greater Sacramento area and surrounding suburbs, we’ve seen quite a trend with more activity heading up to the foothills. Placer and El Dorado counties have seen a big increase in home sales, with some areas seeing as much as 30% more in just the past few months. Data and sales charts show this in black and white, and our networking with other agents have also confirmed this. Most hot properties in these counties are receiving multiple offers and selling for ever increasing prices. The work from home trend and buyers fleeing denser communities seem to be the type of buyer that is looking for a larger home with a bit more space between themselves and the neighbors.
In summary, this is probably nothing surprising: buyers want larger homes, with pools, and in less dense areas. Sounds like a pretty good place to call home, especially after riding out months of isolation and adapting to a whole new work and school environment. Let us know what your perfect home looks like. Quite a bit of homes sell off market and never hit the internet. You never know what might be available if you’re only looking at listings posted on the MLS.
