{"id":34684,"date":"2021-10-18T10:58:11","date_gmt":"2021-10-18T14:58:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/?p=34684"},"modified":"2021-10-18T10:58:11","modified_gmt":"2021-10-18T14:58:11","slug":"residential-real-estate-is-experiencing-a-boom-as-the-covid-19-pandemic-eases","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/2021\/10\/residential-real-estate-is-experiencing-a-boom-as-the-covid-19-pandemic-eases\/","title":{"rendered":"Residential Real Estate Is Experiencing A Boom As The COVID-19 Pandemic Eases"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"
Susan Kassal is a real estate agent with Hunt Real Estate.
Courtesy Hunt Real Estate<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

By Christine Graf<\/p>\n

The residential real estate boom that is occurring throughout the country has Capital Region real estate agents scrambling to find homes for their clients. Much of the demand is being fueled by millennials who are in their prime home-buying years and make up the county\u2019s largest demographic.<\/span><\/p>\n

The decline in interest rates that took place during the past year has made purchasing a home especially attractive. Mortgage rates dropped in 2020 and reached a record low of 2.65 percent in January. Those in the industry say demand far exceeded supply of homes, and low supply has been the primary driver for the rapid increase in home prices. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s nuts,\u201d said Howard Denison of DeMarsh Real Estate in Glens Falls. \u201cPeople are offering up to 10 percent more than asking. There was a two-family ranch that sold within four hours. Potential buyers are getting upset and disgusted.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

According to Susan Kassal of Hunt Real Estate, during her 19 years in real estate she has never witnessed such high demand for residential properties. Many of her customers make offers on three to four houses before securing a winning bid, and a surprising number are making all cash offers. Although the majority of the cash buyers are relocating from cities, she said some are local.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve never seen so many all cash offers. Cash is winning, and if you have cash and come in on the first day or two you can grab it. Even in the $400,000 or $500,000 range, you are seeing cash. We\u2019ve seen people come for vacation homes and pay cash, and they are beating out local people. It\u2019s causing a lot of frustration, but in the last month or so I\u2019ve seen the inventory picking up. And we are finding homes for all of our buyers. But you have to be the first one in.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span>As a result, agents and buyers have been rushing to schedule showings as soon as a properties come on the market. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIf it\u2019s listed today, you have to see it today,\u201d said Kassal. \u201cReal estate has always been kind of an on-call job, but this is just over the top. You have to act, and there\u2019s no more waiting for the weekend to show a house. You are going out to see one property at a time. You drop everything and go see it and don\u2019t wait for the weekend and show five properties anymore.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Because of the influx of buyers from out of the area, local real estate agents are also doing a record number of virtual showings. Although some buyers have made offers without ever seeing a property in person, Kassal said that is becoming much more uncommon.<\/span><\/p>\n

According to Janet Besheer, owner of Equitas Realty in Saratoga, even properties that traditionally took a very long time to sell have been snapped up in a matter of days.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAll of these listings in Washington and Warren counties that were traditionally farm land used to take months if not years to sell. They range in price from $300 to over a million. This past eighteen months, those properties were gone in three days.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The majority of the buyers for those properties were people who were fleeing from crowded cities as a result of the pandemic. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThey were coming out of apartments where their rents were higher than a mortgage on a $900,000 home,\u201d said Besheer.<\/span><\/p>\n

Although she has seen signs that the market is slowing down, Besheer doesn\u2019t think the \u201cwild ride\u201d that has taken place over the last year is going to end in the immediate future. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe New York state August 2021 housing report shows that inventory was down 23.4 percent compared to last year. The average home price was $395,000 in August 2021 compared to $204,000 last August. That means that the median sale price went up 29.9 percent. It\u2019s huge.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

No one knows if or when the bubble will burst on the market, but many economists predict that it won\u2019t be any time soon. They point to record low inventory and pent-up demand as the two main factors that will keep the market hot.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe big question is, \u2018Is this the new normal, and will these prices will sustain?\u2019 I think that\u2019s the question on everyone\u2019s mind,\u201d said Besheer. \u201cI think that in certain price points\u2014like in that middle $300,000 range\u2014I can see it sticking. That might be a new normal.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Besheer isn\u2019t as confident when it comes to higher-end properties that sold for well over asking price. Many of these properties were purchased by people who were relocating from cities in record numbers.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThey were bought up by people who I believe have an abundance of cash and aren\u2019t concerned about the house appraising. A lot of those buyers just wanted to get out of Dodge.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Denison expects prices to stay fairly stable and demand to remain strong as long as interest rates remain low. Although the Federal Reserve has held interest rates steady so far this year, many economists anticipate that rates will increase in 2022 and again in 2023. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe real estate market has it curves up and down. If prices go down, I don\u2019t believe they won\u2019t be slashed tremendously,\u201d he said.<\/span><\/p>\n

Besheer has observed somewhat of a price correction occurring in the Capital Region market. Houses are still selling quickly but are staying on the market for several weeks instead of just several days. As a result, sellers are becoming more willing to negotiate, and houses that have been on the market for more than two or three weeks are seeing price reductions. Although some properties continue to receive multiple offers, that number is no longer in the double digits. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAs we move into the autumn, what is true every fall and winter period is that owners of homes that are on the market want to get out before the snow flies,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s usually this time of the year that sellers are willing to negotiate more readily.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Local residential home inventory remains low which has proved especially challenging for real estate agents new to the profession.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIf you talk to real estate companies throughout the Capital Region, everyone is down to next to nothing in terms of inventory,\u201d said Besheer. \u201cThere\u2019s just not enough inventory right now to go around. Newer agents are having a very tough time.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Although local real estate agents are busier than ever, that does not necessarily mean that all well-established agents are having banner years in terms of sales. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cYou don\u2019t have the listings that you would usually have,\u201d said Kassal. \u201cIt\u2019s the person with the inventory that\u2019s going to have the best year.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Christine Graf The residential real estate boom that is occurring throughout the country has Capital Region real estate agents scrambling to find homes for their clients. Much of the demand is being fueled by millennials who are in their prime home-buying years and make up the county\u2019s largest demographic. The decline in interest rates […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":89,"featured_media":34686,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\r\nResidential Real Estate Is Experiencing A Boom As The COVID-19 Pandemic Eases - Glens Falls Business Journal<\/title>\r\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\r\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/2021\/10\/residential-real-estate-is-experiencing-a-boom-as-the-covid-19-pandemic-eases\/\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Residential Real Estate Is Experiencing A Boom As The COVID-19 Pandemic Eases - Glens Falls Business Journal\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Christine Graf The residential real estate boom that is occurring throughout the country has Capital Region real estate agents scrambling to find homes for their clients. 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