Commercial Realtors are optimistic for the rest of the year in 2021

The housing market surprised everyone in 2020, and the upward trend will continue this year. Home sales are projected to increase by about 10% in 2021. Home prices will rise as well, but Commercial Realtor expects more modest rises than we've seen in the past, giving first-time buyers a break. Mortgage rates would remain favorable, with average rates remaining at or near historic lows of 3%. The job market will improve as vaccines become more readily available and life returns to normal.

• About 4 million new jobs could be added, reversing a net loss of around 7 million jobs during the pandemic year of 2020. By the end of the year, the unemployment rate could be at 5.5 percent, up from 14.7 percent in April 2020, when the country was on lockdown, but only a few notches above the generational low of 3.5 percent just before the pandemic.

• The housing market's success in the face of the pandemic and high unemployment has been attributed to low mortgage rates by Commercial realtors. Home sales have reacted to rate increases on several occasions. The economy roared in 2018, with employment, jobs, and more jobs, but interest rates rose to as high as 4.9 percent, and home sales slowed. The annualized revenue rate dropped from 5.5 million at the start of the year to 5 million by the end of the year.

• For example, in September 2001, home sales were at 5.2 million. Still, by the end of 2002, they had risen to an annualized rate of 6 million, even though the economy had entered a recession due to job losses following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Mortgage rates dropped from 7% to 6% over that period, resulting in a faster sales pace.

• Although mortgage rates have a significant impact on home sales, they aren't the only factor, as said by the Commercial Realtor. Consumer trust and life-cycle events such as marriage, family size improvements, and retirement all play a part, given the significant commitment and financial dollars at stake.

Conclusion:

Meanwhile, demand for commercial, industrial, and warehouse space in Houston is high. In the second and third quarters of last year, net absorption increased by 113 million square feet of the total area that became occupied minus the entire space that became empty in a given period. Although people are increasingly avoiding in-person shopping, e-commerce, which was already on the rise before the pandemic, experienced a meteoric rise during this era. Even after vaccinations are available and people feel more comfortable going out, shopping centers are likely to be significantly overcrowded.

Location: Commercial Realtor, 1610 FM 1960, Houston, Texas 77073