The question I hear everyday is how will the coronavirus will affect downtown Boston condo market? So I did some research on the topic, by going to Google. The first item that came up was from Bloomberg News and they of course created hysteria with this article which is all speculation and guesses. Mark Zandi has always had one of the most negative opinions about the housing market, hoping that one day he might be right, and Yunnie has never left his ivory tower.
These are the only facts mentioned in the article:
The potential economic fallout still hadn’t completely registered this past weekend for homebuyers in Seattle, an epicenter of the U.S. outbreak. On Saturday, around four dozen groups filed through a four-bedroom Tudor in the Whittier neighborhood listed for just over $1 million. Many said they had hoped the virus would keep other would-be buyers away in a market where there’s little inventory and bidding wars are frequent.
At another open house nearby, handshakes were out, but plenty of home shoppers came for a look. Craig Rothlin, 34, and Kanako Nakarai, 31, were among them. Both work for tech companies, and have been hurt by the recent stock market rout.
“A good chunk of our down payment is caught up in that,” Rothlin said.
The couple had been waiting to see prices come down. But, so far, that hasn’t happened. The last home they bid on got multiple offers and sold for $180,000 over the asking price.
Seattle is an epicenter of the U.S. outbreak, and FOUR DOZEN GROUPS are looking at an open house? Many said they hoped that the virus would keep other would-be buyers away? There’s your takeaway!
Let’s focus on the facts as they apply to the downtown Boston condo market.
In the area of Seaport District, there are 47 condos for sale priced $600,00 and above, and 64 condos sold or are under agreement in the last 60 days. When there are more pending/sold than actives, it means the demand is outstripping the supply! Even if some nervous nellies decided to wait it out, there will still be plenty who want to buy a downtown Boston condo when rates are at all-time lows.
What about the high-end, aren’t the affluent more susceptible to stock market swings? Maybe, but they’re not going to give it away! This scare will be over in less than a year, perhpas in 3-4 months, and rich people have a long history of having patience when it comes to thier investments, rather than dumping at a loss. By the way, the average sales price for a Seaport Condo for sale in the last 60 days was $2,075,084, not actually giving them away, now are they?
It would take a panic selling and an increase of inventory to disrupt the market
But the COVID-19 is causing a hunker-down-and-do-nothing environment. Boston High rise condo owners aren’t going to panic and uproot their life just because of some stinking virus that will pass in 3-6 months. Okay, that’s was my sermon for the day.
