Selling your home during a Presidential race is similar to our morning drive to work….

Selling your home during a Presidential race is similar to our morning drive to work, the same drive you have done countless times. However this morning there is a fog that decided to join you and all the other morning commuters. Still come on now, you know this drive better than the names of your own children! So it is easy to forget that this fog is the “once every 4 year” kinda fog which comes in heavy. So much that it causes pause in your normal process, as the usual lines of sight you trust daily, are now uncertain. Like the fog, each presidential election race evokes a fog of uncertainty across all housing markets. National research shows that regardless of who the candidates are, the closer the election gets, the more likely its effects on housing will be seen and felt. As the fog effect becomes more visceral for home shoppers, the areas of impact are 1) first buyer activity and 2) secondly sale price.

I regularly will use Meyer Research (housing consultancy firm) as apart of my process when writing these articles.  They of course had done some homework on past election years and homes sales, here is what they said; “In a recent study that analyzed the last 13 presidential election years, found that new home sales recorded a drop in median sale activity of 15% from October to November. In the year following the election, the traditional seasonal decline in the sales of new construction abodes is only 8%.” That’s one way to say, you should not expect your home to sell in a weekend or even the first 30 days from June to the end of November in 2020.

I am not saying you need to sell for less if you list your home in June or later. Sadly, my crystal ball is on loan this week to a campaign manager. I can say, as of right now 2020 stands to maintain a strong outlook for our local economy when it comes to job creation and overall growth. We will continue the current “wins” on a national level of strong consumer confidence, attractive mortgage rates, and low unemployment. The chief economist at the National Association of Realtors Lawrence Yun,  has said he “hope(s) the price increase in 2020 is more moderate at 3% or 4%,” compared to past years. In 2012, analyzing the California Association of Realtors, Movoto, a real estate technology company, concluded that in presidential election years price appreciation falls about 1.5% behind the gains made in the year preceding and the one following the vote.”

So turn on those fog lights and continue your daily drive to work with the confidence that the strength of our local economy will help home sales persevere during the 2020 Presidential Elections.

If you have questions or need help with buying or selling please give us a call at 360-609-0111 or email us at hello@wollamassociates.com.

Terry Wollam
Managing Broker | ReMax Equity Group
Wollam & Associates
360-609-0111
Real Estate Expert
hello@wollamassociates.com