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We are well into Week 10 of kids “homeschooling.” (That term is so loose in my house that I feel guilty even using it.)We are legit in pulling-mom’s-hair-out mode. And just when I thought things couldn’t get crazier, we Realtors are blessed with a shockingly busy peak season of Real Estate here in Grassland! < wuuuuuuuuuuttt >

It’s an absolute blessing. And it’s news that could benefit *all* of us homeowners here in Grassland. I’ll tell you why in just a minute. But first, let’s take a look at some of our sales stats from April.

April Performance

To put it bluntly, what we saw in April 2020 was a dive in closings compared to April 2019, to the tune of 21%. This is likely primarily due to all of the uncertainty in March, and Sellers reluctant to list For Sale. Stay Home orders were put in place and home showings dramatically decreased in March, which is often reflected in the next month’s closing activity. So no surprise in our low April 2020 closings. But the rest of our numbers don’t look too bad, especially our average sales price – up more than $80,000!

April 2020 sales stats vs. April 2019:

• 34 Grassland homes sold… down from 43 in 2019 (-21%)
• The average sales price was $870,127… up from $788,494! (+9.39%)
• The average days on market was 45… up from 41 (+8.9%)
• The list price to sales price ratio was 97.63%… down from 98.66% (-1.05%)
• The lowest price sale was 820 Brandyleigh Ct. for $311,000
• The highest price sale was 2211 Old Natchez Trace for $2,842,000

Though we saw a decrease in April 2020 closings compared to April 2019, these numbers are still an improvement from March. March 2020 only had 31 homes close, though Days on Market was a week less. This, of course, is reflective of February’s activity, before Covid entered the picture in our Grassland buying market.

And since I mentioned above that the number of home showings can help gauge the next month’s rate of Closings, let’s see what May 2020 could hold.

A chart from Realtors Showing Service, ShowingTime, depicts 162 showings between Apr 1 – Apr 3o, 2020 for homes priced between $400,000 – $600,000 in zip code 37069. This us up from 151 during the whole month of March. That’s a 7% increase in that price range, which is clearly our most-shopped bracket.  This is promising data for May, showing our market is heading in the right direction.

So Far in May

The jury is still out on how this month will shape up. Since most closings happen on the last few days of the month, it’s hard to gauge where we’ll be on Closings as most haven’t happened yet. But if my business hustle is any indication, there is promise.

As far as data goes, what I can tell you is we have more than 50 homes that have gone Under Contract here in Grassland mostly in March and April and only four of those are new construction. So we could potentially see a lot of these close in May. If half of them close, combined with 7 that have already closed this month, we could be close (and hopefully pass) April’s numbers.

Also, from May 1st through May 13th, we’ve seen 136 showings between the $400,000 – $600,000 price range in 37069. That’s only 15 shy of our ENTIRE number of showings for the same price bracket in April, which bodes well for our market activity.

Another factor to consider is our LOW inventory. We went into Covid with fewer homes on the market than we have Buyers. Then Covid scared away many potential Sellers from listing, so our already-low inventory has become even lower. Competing with May 2019 will be tough in this regard because there are just not enough homes to sell. We had 48 closings this time last year. It’ll be really interesting to see how May 2020 compares.

What this Means for Prices

As you’ve seen from our Grassland home sales prices above, our values (so far) are continuing to increase year-over-year, most likely due to our low inventory. I’ve been getting a lot of questions from potential Sellers about a possible flattening and even dive in our home prices due to this pandemic. And so far, in Grassland, we’ve been pretty well insulated mostly due to the simple fact of such low inventory. It’s not unusual for homes to list, and if priced and marketed right, they’ll sell within days for asking price or close to it. Realtors are still seeing multiple offer situations right now!

Nationwide, Real Estate source Zillow is predicting a potential decline in home values — by as much as 3% in 2021. But they seem to be in small company with this prediction. Fannie Mae and CoreLogic are among many still predicting increases to home values nationwide year-over-year. “You would have to see continuing job losses for a prolonged period leading to foreclosures, and even then we may not have oversupply,” says Lawrence Yun, Chief Economist for the National Association of Realtors.

Here in Grassland, with our demand for schools, work-from-home economy and freakishly low inventory, our chances of seeing a decease in values is even lower than what we’d see nationwide.

Strike While the Iron is Hot

My business partner and I keep talking about what lies ahead. And ultimately, the best information for planning is what’s already out there.

We know that *now* is a good time to sell. But 6 weeks from now? 6 months from now? Though prices are expected to maintain year-to-year, there are so many factors that could throw us a curveball between then.

At this particular moment, we may be flattening the curve for Covid. But social distancing and wearing masks isn’t doing much by way of flattening our home values. If I were thinking of Selling any time soon, I would strike while the iron is still hot.

Speaking of hot.. I may be living in one of these masks through the summer if this recent uptick in market activity is any indication. *yikes* But at least that means I would be out of the house and not “homeschooling!”

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If you need to sell your home and want honest advice on what it takes during these unprecedented times, I’ve got you. Call, email or text me. I provide a free consultation to see what your home could sell for – or to get pre-approved to buy. ALL DONE VIRTUALLY! I’m a Grassland area resident, I’m a Platinum Award-winning Williamson County REALTOR® ranking in the top 2% and I specialize in helping my neighbors buy and sell homes!