Recapping the year in real estate – 2020
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – Despite the laundry list of businesses that were shut down, or operating at smaller capacities in 2020, the real estate market proved to be a roller coaster this past year according to The CE Shop’s video on Top 10 Real Estate Facts of 2020, outlined below.
During the pandemic, the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) labeled most real estate agents as essential workers, paving the way for some agents to switch to full-time real estate. Not only did agents devote more time to their real estate business, but it also increased the home index while the mortgage rates fell causing a boom in the business. As the home values increased to roughly 6.6 percent, agents quickly took advantage of the opportunity to help buyers and sellers fulfill their relocation needs.
Not only was business booming, but the CE Shop stated that word-of-mouth recommendations were at an all-time high as the influx of people moving into the Arizona area increased. About 41 percent of buyers found their real estate agent through a personal recommendation. However, it may be seen as a challenge for newly-licensed agents.
At the beginning of the year as businesses began to shut down, there was an increased interest in those looking to get their real estate license. However, with classes moved to online and the lack of in-person testing sites, it proved to put the pressure on real-estate students to complete their courses and testing quickly, in worry there would be no testing at all. In the summer months, the number of licensed agents in the United States bounced back and reached 2 Million. This includes the growth of women in the industry by 67 percent in the past year.
Another factor that propelled the real estate industry is the increased use of social media. With people at home utilizing FaceTime for virtual tours, posting more pictures and videos of listings, the industry turned the digital switch on to keep up with the pandemic business environment. Platforms such as TikTok took new heights as realtors used it to share advice, show houses, renovations and even had agents joining in on a viral dance or two. However, Facebook was still the leading platform among REALTORS® and is widely used at My Home Group with various Mastermind groups for agents to take advantage of.
These trends along with others outlined in the CE Shop’s article show just some of the challenges and opportunities agents faced in 2020. As the year winds down, agents look to stay on top of the ever-changing market to keep up. The CE Shop urges My Home Group agents to “keep in mind that informing your leads and clients about these stable, growing conditions in a time of true uncertainty could be the deciding factor when choosing you as their next agent.”
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