The Housing Market: Pre & Post COVID-19

COVID-19 changed things in almost every aspect of life and in almost every industry, including the housing market. Over the past couple of years, we've seen the prices for houses increase as lower interest rates have made it more attractive for people to buy and fewer people were putting their houses up for sale. But now that COVID-19 is winding down, it will be interesting to see what we can expect in the coming months from the housing market.

Factors That Caused the Price of Houses to Rise

Lower interest rates have made buying a home more attractive, but what's just as significant is that fewer houses have been listed over the past couple of years compared to the month-by-month numbers of a few years prior. In fact, in comparison to the previous couple of years, the number of houses on the market fell by about 12.9% because people were uncomfortable letting strangers into their homes because of the fear of COVID-19 exposure. This means that bidding wars were more common and homeowners were able to ask more for their houses and even anticipate multiple offers even if their houses were listed at slightly higher prices.

What To Expect In The Near Future

In 2022, you can expect there to be slightly more inventory available as COVID-19 numbers continue to decline, making more homeowners more comfortable with letting strangers into their homes and making larger life decisions. Inventory levels are still going to be much lower than they were prior to the pandemic because the market still needs some time to rebuild the inventory level.

What You Should Do When Buying a House?

The amount of inventory is likely to rise slightly as homeowners are less fearful of letting strangers into their homes as COVID-19 incidence rates start declining, but don't expect there to be a lot more houses on the market. In fact, your strategy for buying a house will shift only slightly from the strategy you would have taken a year earlier. This means that you should still jump on a house that you like because there could still be other buyers in the wings. You also need to continue to make strong offers when buying a house.

When looking for homes for sale in Dallas, understand that the housing market is always changing, and what's true in one area might not hold true in another region. But the market is headed in the direction of stabilizing over the next several months. Also, for now, there's going to be a slight uptick in houses on the market, and it's becoming a better time for buyers, but people who are interested in getting a house will still need to be strategic in their buying process.