Press release
Realtor.com® Weekly Recovery Report: U.S. Housing Market has Recovered from the Initial Shock of COVID
Whether it can make up losses from the first half of the year has yet to be determined SANTA CLARA, Calif., July 23, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The U.S. Housing
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[{"type":"text","content":"Whether it can make up losses from the first half of the year has yet to be determined\n\n\nSANTA CLARA, Calif., July 23, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The U.S. Housing Market has recovered from the immediate disruption caused by the COVID pandemic and returned to January 2020 growth levels, according to realtor.com® data for the week ending July 18. Despite this significant milestone, another few months of sustained growth and a significant increase in new listings are needed to make up for lost ground in the first half of the year. \nFor the first time since March 2020, the realtor.com® Housing Recovery Index hit 101.0 points surpassing its pre-COVID recovery benchmark, clocking a 2.5 percent gain over last week. Demand from buyers recovered in early May, followed by price growth in early June. Now, the pace of sales has caught up to pre-COVID levels, too. Supply remains the critical missing piece. Growth in supply remains below normal seasonal pace, but continues to improve as buyers anxiously wait for more sellers to put fresh new homes on the market.\n\"There is no blueprint for a pandemic-induced recession, but this recovery milestone is further proof that homebuyers will persevere through the biggest of storms,\" said Javier Vivas, director of economic research for realtor.com®. \"Housing remains a must-have during COVID times, and home sales have proven to flourish even under record low levels of supply. The spring season disruptions have given an artificial boost to the summer homebuying season, the real question will be whether the market will be able to sustain that pace through the rest of the summer and going into the fall.\"\nKey Findings:\nLocal Recovery: Regionally, the Northeast (106.3) has overtaken all regions and now leads the recovery with the overall index now visibly above the pre-COVID benchmark. The West (105.5) remains above recovery pace and continues to improve, while the South (97.9) and Midwest (97.3) are still below recovery but regaining momentum toward recovery. Locally, half of the largest 50 markets in the country are now above the recovery benchmark, with the overall recovery index showing greatest recovery in Boston, Seattle, New York, Philadelphia and Denver. New listings were down 15 percent year-over-year. The gradual improvement in the number of homes for sale continues, but it's not happening fas...