3 Experts Weigh-In on Summer 2020 Housing Market

As the world slowly begins to reopen, many are wondering which direction the housing market will go. Will sellers be eager to list their homes after months of social distancing? Will buyers be willing to purchase despite lingering fears of an economic crash? There are lots of questions out there, and you probably have a few, too. No one can be sure what the housing market will look like over the remaining months of 2020. However, we've compiled a few reputable sources to give you an idea of what to expect.

Dave Ramsey, Money-Management Expert

DaveRamsey.com More than 14 million people tune-in each week to The Dave Ramsey Show. His financial planning tools are well-known and well-received by many. When rumors of the coronavirus outbreak became our sudden reality, speculations ran wild regarding the housing market. The already volatile industry was faced with one of the most significant financial and health crises to date. Though we have yet to see the long-term economic impact of the virus, some experts do have an idea of what is to come. In a recent blog, Ramsey highlighted the strength of the market before the virus struck, saying existing-home sales in February 2020 were the strongest they've been in since 2007. With record low interest rates, the market was in good standing at the beginning of the year. The question now is, can this strength continue? Based on Ramey's predictions, there will be more buyers than sellers this summer, which is excellent news for those who didn't list during the pandemic. On that note, buyers should prioritize finding an experienced real estate agent who can help navigate this fast-changing market. In short: The strength of the market at the start of 2020 will hopefully continue into the rest of the year. Trends favor sellers.

Ellen Paris, Real Estate Writer

Featured on Forbes.com Ellen Paris has covered residential and commercial real estate for over 25 years. Her work is featured in Entrepreneur, Washington Times, Kiplinger Personal Finance, and more. It's no surprise that the market moves we all predicted in December 2019 are even fathomably close to what the market is today. (Who could have predicted a worldwide pandemic?) In a May 2020 article, Paris addresses multiple other factors for market disrupt, including lingering health concerns (post-pandemic), an unstable world economy, and the upcoming presidential election. With the number of new homes for sale down 45 percent year-over-year in April, Paris' prediction is similar to Ramsey's. Sellers can expect a short-term bump in sales by late summer, but the "gotta move now" urgency will quickly diminish by the fourth quarter. Buyers who waited to purchase and families needing to settle before the start of the new school year will likely make up most of the market for the time being, until the market inevitably tapers out. Industry stats aside, Paris also notes the changes in buyer demands regarding both location and the potential for home office space. In short: The housing market will experience a short-lived urgency to purchase toward the end of the summer.

Bill Conerly, Economist

Featured on Forbes.com Bill Conerly is an experienced business leader and economist with a Ph.D. from Duke University. He is also the longest-tenured member of the Oregon Governor's Council of Economic Advisors. As we've seen so far with Ramsey and Paris, the consensus seems to be that the market will surge temporarily in the summer and slow down in the colder months. In any year prior, this would still be the case. Traditionally, the spring and summer months are the busiest (and best) time to buy or sell a home, with colder weather and holidays resulting in far fewer transactions. So, besides the obvious, how will this year produce different results? Conerly focused a recent article on housing prices, rather than just sales in 2020. It's become common knowledge that the housing market all but came to a screeching halt over the past few months. However, Conerly predicts housing prices to hold steady throughout the rest of the year. He notes that the short-term behavior of the market won't be enough to alter home prices. Though some desperate sellers may cut prices for potential buyers, the majority of the summer housing market will consist of those who simply decided to wait. Buyers and sellers entering the market are also unlikely to be part of the 15% of Americans who found themselves recently unemployed. In short: Housing prices should remain unaffected for the remainder of the year. A potential resurge in the virus could cause problems in the cooler months. For more information about market predictions, start here.

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