Lots of people these days are telling themselves, “If this is the one life I have to live, maybe I need to set some priorities.” According to national and local real estate sales statistics, a lot of those priorities involve lifestyle and where to live, both of which are being turned upside down.
When the coronavirus hit in mid-March and everything shut down, it seemed like everyone was heading for the hills to hunker down. If you were lucky enough to own a second home in an area where the infection rate was lower and the amenities better, you were among the lucky. Now with the ability to work and educate remotely, those second homeowners are reconsidering turning their second homes into their first homes, completely reversing their lifestyle.
Second home sales in resort and rural communities have seen a surge in recent months. Buyers are looking for second homes where they can comfortably live long term or forever. This is no surprise to Florida generally and our area in particular, where properties are literally flying off the market. As of this writing per realtor.com, here is a quick unscientific analysis of properties for sale vs. properties already pending.
Manatee County has 4,934 properties listed for sale – 35% of them pending. Anna Maria city has 82 properties listed for sale – 30% of them pending. The combined cities of Holmes Beach and Bradenton Beach have 241 properties listed – 24% of them pending. Cortez has 27 properties listed for sale – 22% of them pending.
These are significant percentages of pending properties which backs up the positive June Manatee County sales statistics. Also, in June, Manatee County had 20% more pending single-family homes compared to last June and pending condos were up for the same period by 17.7%.
Not only has the virus had an effect on the second home market, it is also having an effect on the increase of suburban home sales. In recent years, the suburbs were looked on by young singles and families as a very “uncool” place to live. Brady Bunch 1950s homes where many millennials and generation X young adults grew up had very little draw to this generation, who gravitated to cities and urban centers.
Well, a lot of that has changed since March, and urban dwellers are re-evaluating what’s really important to them and their children and are perceiving the suburbs as safer, cleaner and overall polished, the exact reason their parents and grandparents moved there in the first place. And it’s not only young employees viewing the suburbs differently, it’s also their employers. Working remotely does not require long and expensive commutes into city centers where commercial real estate costs are exorbitant.
Naturally, the suburbs close to big cities like New York City are benefiting the most; moves from New York City to Connecticut have more than doubled from last year. However, the trend is nationwide – what could be bad about a conference call overlooking the Gulf of Mexico.
The world is shifting on its axis and it only took a few months and a nasty virus to make that happen. Maybe COVID-19 did us all a favor by forcing us to reevaluate our priorities; it wouldn’t be the first time a major world-wide event compelled us to readjust our thinking, and it won’t be the last time. Stay safe.
