Median Home Prices Rose in July
According to the Housing Recovery Index put out by Realtor.com, listing price growth increased $27,000 (8.5%) Y-o-Y to $349,000 in July – a new high in median U.S. home prices. Danielle Hale, chief economist at Realtor.com notes that, “The U.S. housing market performance is closely mirroring COVID’s path, which is providing clues into what we can expect for various housing markets in the months to come. After being particularly hard hit in March and April, new coronavirus cases remain stable in the Northeast and we’re seeing buyers return to the market in force. If this same trend follows in the South and Midwest . . . we could see a flurry of activity well into the fall.” Experts pin this rise in median home price on low inventory and pent-up demand. Nationwide inventory continued to shrink Y-o-Y in July – dropping 34.8%, down from June’s 26.5% drop in inventory.1Second Home Office?
People are doing whatever it takes to adapt and stay productive during this unprecedented time of the coronavirus. One way some residents of large cities are doing this is by buying or renting a second home to turn into an office. Instead of commuting to his office in Brooklyn or setting up shop in his living room, Felipe Vasconcelos, a cosmetics industry entrepreneur in New York, simply takes the elevator down 6 floors to his newly-acquired 450-square-foot studio apartment turned office. “Trying to work from home . . . the place where I relax, it was very difficult to concentrate – but also I was limited by space” said Vasconcelos. “I’ve seen an increase in productivity” he said since acquiring his second property. Now, not only does Felipe have space for his home office, he has space for a small home gym as well. Still, Felipe says the biggest benefit comes at the end of the day. “I think that the big difference for me is, yes, when I come home I can absolutely relax.”4
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