Comparing the 2019 and 2020 July Housing Market

2020 has certainly been a roller coaster ride, and the coronavirus pandemic has had tremendous global impacts. To take a closer look at the impacts on the U.S. Housing Market, we compared the recent July 2020 National Association of Realtors (NAR) Confidence Index to the 2019 one. The NAR surveys over 50,000 nationwide realtors monthly to pull the results for their Confidence Indexes. Here are some comparisons between 2019 and 2020 on market conditions and issues affecting the market.

July 2019 vs. July 2020 Market Conditions

• In July 2020, the median number of days a home was on the market was 22, compared to 29 days in July 2019
• In July 2020, 16% of purchases were cash sales compared to 19% in 2019
• In July 2020, 15% of purchases were non-primary residences, compared to 11% in 2019

Issues Affecting the Market in July 2019 vs. July 2020

• In July 2019, 74% of contracts settled on time, compared to only 67% settling on time in July 2020
• In July 2019, realtors reported “low inventory” and “high interest rate” as the top major issues affecting transactions. In July 2020, “Covid,” “election,” “income,” and “inventory” were listed as the top major concerns impacting transactions. ­
  
  

Some key takeaways include less use of cash in 2020, less contracts closing on time in 2020, and more non-primary residence purchases in 2020. The July 2020 top issues with delays and cancellations of contracts include issues obtaining financing, appraisal issues, lost jobs, and deed issues.

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