August National Real Estate Market Update
The media is constantly showing us negative news about the economy. We wanted to focus on something positive instead: the recovery. In this National Market Update, we discuss multiple indicators that impact the housing market including unemployment and foreclosures. It’s easy to want to compare today to the previous recession, but there are some differing factors that make today’s situation much more hopeful.
To go over your options and get an accurate home evaluation from an experienced professional, visit http://bit.ly/38qh6z1
So much doom and gloom out there in the news. Did you know that negative news gets way more attention than positive news? So it stands to reason that the major networks want to show you all of the bad stuff that’s happening in the economy, because they know negative headlines sell. Well, we think it’s time to look at some of the positive things that are happening right now and focus on that, like the recovery.
All of these indicators are important to look at when considering how they affect the housing market. In both June and July, we gained back a total of 6.6 million jobs, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Nationally, we ended up in July with 10.2% unemployment rate. Unemployment went up in March and April, and then back down in June and July. Consumers are gaining confidence. However, we understand that, recently, there’s been an upsurge, and we’ll be watching those numbers carefully.
Here’s the crazy thing. In June 2020, in King County, the unemployment rate was 9.2%, which is the same as it was in June 2010, during the middle of the last recession. This may make some people nervous because we know that, in 2010, nationally, we had a high rate of foreclosure. Well, this is understandable, but we need to understand is that of all the active forbearances, which are past due mortgages, according to Black Knight, a data analytics company for the mortgage and real estate industries, 77% of those have at least 20% equity in their homes. So, the likelihood of foreclosure is very slim because they have equity to sell. People have more options today. As quoted by Black Knight, “The high level of equity “provides options for homeowners, policymakers, “mortgage investors and service providers “in helping to avoid foreclosure “and default-related losses.”
So it’s all not doom and gloom. Be careful who and what you are listening to in making your decisions about buying or selling now. To go over your options and get an accurate evaluation from an experienced professional, give us a call and we’ll be happy to give you the best advice possible, and, if needed, help you sell your home here in Seattle and throughout King County and Snohomish County.
We are Steve and Sandra. Elevated Service, Elevated Results.
And as always, if you have any additional real estate related questions, feel free to call/text/email us any time. We are always here to help!
Steve 📲 (c) 206-769-9577 📧stevehill@windermere.com
Sandra 📲 (c) 206-271-7100 📧sbrenner@windermere.com
