The Good News We All Need To Hear: Real Estate Edition

People walked into 2020 with high hopes & filled planners. Halfway through some may feel like they've been hit by a train of dissapointment and lack of motivation due to the global pandemic and the realistic, unfortunate negative media that hovers over us everyday.

Don't loose hope- better days are ahead! Although things feel and seem so out of control, you can get back to your life and we can move forward from here. There is good news, after all. 

Although things did slow down in the Real Estate market like they did in just about every other industry and impacted buyers and sellers over the past couple months, we are finally starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel. 

I personally know so many people who were able to spend much needed quality time with their loved ones in their homes during quarantine. Coming into this year none of us knew how much we took for granted having jobs to go to everyday, but for a lot of people having family and friends in their life was their life support during this crazy time. 

For a lot of people I know, having the time to work on projects in the home that were constantly being put off was such a great benefit of this season! Someone from my neighbor completed six projects & put their home exactly where it needed to be update wise as they put it on the market a few weeks later. We were able to start our master bedroom renovation during quarantine & we are so happy with the results of taking out the old carpet and putting in new floors. Also reorganizing our closet after a whole year... that was a big job! 

At the beginning of this, my buyers and clients were starting to become scared & nervous. I had at least one or two totally stop pursuing the option to buy or sell because of the unknown- which I totally understood and supported. Murmurs of this starting to look like another economic crash and affecting the real estate market began to arise in my close family and friend groups. 

Guess what? Showing activity, occupancy inspections, open house activity, and much much more has started to resume and climb back up again! Seller's have the highest advantage right now with less competion due to lower inventory of houses in the st. louis market. Buyer's have the upper hand of taking this time to get pre-approved and be ready to make an offer when they find the best home for them. 

Travis & I were also able to refinance our home with USA Mortgage- in the middle of a pandemic & a season of furlough. We got our interest rate down over 1% and now we're saving a good amount of money a month on our payment. 

All hope is not lost. Homes are still selling, the real estate market is still moving. Below is a chart that shows showings per listings in the South County area here in St. Louis. The great news can be seen at the right of the image- showings are shooting back up! People will always need homes, and I'm here to help them with just that!

As things are quickly starting to pick back up in the real estate- and lots of other- worlds, take this time to add more value into your home! You'd be shocked how inexpensive but fruitful it is to paint your walls a nice, neutral color that attracts a wide range of buyers. These are some of my favorite color tones for walls in a home.

I personally love the idea of 'less is more' and the more neutral the better, because you can better decorate and create a nicer space around it. 

There is always something to be thankful for- no matter what we experience as a person, family, community, and society. Be thankful for the little things, the big things, and everything in the middle. Find joy in starting a new home DIY project (blog posts on this to come!). Spend time searching for properties on my website or shoot me a text or email to get signed up for a market watch of new and coming soon listings in your desired area! 

We rebuild as a community together. We need eachother in times like these. Showing kindness, being positive, and educating ourselves on the facts is what will bring us closer through all of this. 

What was your biggest takeaway from this seaon? Did you complete any home projects? Leave a comment down below or share this post! I would love to hear from you. 

Hope everyone has an amazing day! 

-Your Home Girl