How Has COVID Changed Things for Buyers and Sellers?

Here are six of the key ways that COVID has changed real estate.

If you’re thinking about buying a home or selling your current one, you should know about some of the changes that have happened because of COVID. Here are the most important ones to know:

1. Buyers are in a hurry.
On average, buyers look at just four houses before making a decision. In the past, that average was closer to nine or 10 homes. The reason buyers are in more of a hurry now is that supply is so limited. You don’t have the luxury of being as picky in this market as you have been in the past because if you don’t make a decision quickly, you’ll lose out.

2. Home wishlists have changed.
Number one on the list is privacy. Everyone wants a home office now, too. Yard space is another big thing that today’s buyers are looking for.


If you don’t make a decision quickly in this market, you’ll lose out.

3. Buyers are less concerned about commuting. With so many people working from home these days, their commute to work is nonexistent. Those homes that are selling in some of the outlying areas of Chattanooga have an opportunity to be in front of more buyers.

4. Multi-generational households are on the rise.

5. Pets. We’re seeing people make decisions with their pets in mind, such as buying a home with a fenced yard.

6. Housing tenure is going to change. We always talk about the “seven-year itch” because the average homeowner buys a new home every seven years, but we’ve seen people staying closer to an average of 10 years. Due to COVID, I expect to see this reverse and we’ll begin to see people move quicker.

It will be very interesting to see how all these things develop. If you are thinking of buying or selling or just have any real estate questions in general, don’t hesitate to reach out via phone or email. I look forward to hearing from you.

Are You Ready for Staggering Stats?

Here are some stats to show what a difference a year makes in real estate.

My recent research has focused on comparing the past 90 days of 2020 to the same 90-day period last year, and the first key finding is that new listings are actually down 1.3% in our market. Despite everything that’s happened this year, the market is not much different from where it usually is in late summer or fall as far new listings are concerned, but what is different is the number of pending listings we’re seeing.

Year over year, pending listings are up a whopping 26%! With no new listings coming onto the market, where are we finding these houses? We as agents have gotten very creative in how we go about finding people who want to sell their home before they ever even get on the market. If you’re thinking about buying, you need to talk to one of our agents because we know of properties coming on the market before the general public gets a chance to see them online.

Our inventory of homes for sale is down 42% from this same time last year; you better believe it’s hard to find a house to buy, and that’s why it’s more important than ever to have a sharp real estate agent in your corner. The average amount of time that a property spends on the market from the point of listing to the point of sale is 42 days. We at the Charlotte Mabry Team are averaging just 25 days right now, so we’re helping our sellers get things done quicker than the normal pace for our marketplace.


Our inventory of homes for sale is down 42% from this same time last year.

At this same time of year in 2018, the median sales price was $188,000. Fast forward exactly one year, and you’ll find that jumped up to $200,000. Now, after yet another year, the median sales price is—please brace yourselves!—an astonishing $249,000! That represents a 24% year-over-year increase; there’s no question that prices are being driven upward.

In 2018, we had about 3.8 months of inventory, which meant that if no other new listings were to hit our market, then it would take almost four months to sell everything that was already listed. In 2019, that number dropped to 3.5 months of inventory. Now, we’re working with just 1.7 months of inventory—a 25% year-over-year decrease.

If you’re interested in selling, you’re practically sitting on the mountaintop; there couldn’t be a better time to sell! You may be really surprised by what your home is worth in today’s market. We’d be glad to share some more numbers with you and have a chat about your specific selling situation. Just shoot an email our way or give us a call and we’d be happy to get the ball rolling.