For many months prior to the coronavirus outbreak, the real estate market was primarily plagued by a lack of available inventory for all the buyers looking for new homes. Affordable housing was especially rare, with prices being pushed up thanks to high demand, and homebuilders unable to construct new houses fast enough to meet that demand. However, the coronavirus has put a halt to many of these plans, causing the homebuilder confidence index to collapse.
The homebuilder confidence index, more commonly known as the Housing Market Index, is a measure of how many homes that homebuilders believe will be able to sell over the next six months. The Index rates the health of the housing market on a numeric scale, with anything over 50 considered to be positive. Previously, the homebuilder confidence index was at 72, but the most recent survey plunged to 30, the single largest drop ever recorded by the Index.
The drop in homebuilder confidence stems almost entirely from the coronavirus and its various ripple effects across the globe. Not only are far fewer people looking to purchase new homes, but construction projects that were already in place have been postponed due to interruptions in the supply chain. As a result, far fewer homes are being built than was initially expected, and homebuilders are not confident that circumstances will change significantly in the near future.
In this kind of market, it’s important to have an agent to help you find a house that meets your needs. Charles Rutenberg Realty is one of New York’s largest Real Estate companies with multiple offices providing a full suite of real estate services, including residential and commercial sales or leasing. We serve clients in Nassau, Suffolk, Queens, Kings, Bronx, Westchester, Putnam, and Orange Counties, and bring our knowledge and experience to bear in every transaction. If you are interested in buying, selling, or leasing real estate, give us a call at 516-575-7500 or visit our contact page.
- What Can Homebuyers Expect After COVID-19? - May 1, 2020
- Homebuilder Confidence Index Craters Due to Coronavirus Impact - April 22, 2020
- Fed Issues Emergency Interest Rate Drop to Counter Coronavirus Effect - March 10, 2020
