Are Chinese buyers coming back into the market?
Several months ago, when China was in a lock down, our enquiries spiked quite significantly. As mentioned previously, there are a few reasons for this.
Earlier this month, with the help of Diane from Keyes.com, we talked about how to sell beachfront property. We discussed the fact that it’s a dream for many people to own beachfront property because summer awakens thoughts of basking in the sun and frolicking with family in paradise. It is also the busiest season when selling or leasing real estate along the water.
There are many reasons a person might leave his country: work, studies or even the prospect of a better life. The fact is that with global mobility, many people and companies are exploring the option to work and/or live abroad. Global connectivity reinforces the perception that it is possible to manage your life and career regardless of your location in the world, thanks to modern technology and the recent pandemic which has shifted the definition of working remotely.
There is no doubt that the pandemic continues to affect our way of living. We can also be sure that after the economy reopens, we won’t be as eager to meet with a customer in a face-to-face scenario and we can forget about handshakes and other friendly greetings.
Since the COVID-19 outbreak started, we started analyzing the impact this crisis is having on the Foreign Buyers market. Two months ago, we noticed a strong increase in properties enquiries coming from China (x3). At the time, 81% of buyers told us they were still actively looking.
Several months ago, when China was in a lock down, our enquiries spiked quite significantly. As mentioned previously, there are a few reasons for this.
In a typical year, the real estate would begin its Spring boom right about now; however, 2020 will be no typical year. The Coronavirus pandemic has undeniably impacted the spring schedule, making it likely that real estate market activity is going to be pushed further into the spring and possibly into the summer months. With many people postponing (or cancelling) summer holidays and hundreds of millions being placed on lock down, buyers and sellers have been looking at properties online, even more so than they usually do. When society resumes its normal rhythm, and it will, pent-up demand will likely yield a surge of activity in the market. As a real estate professional, you’ll want to capitalize on this interest and hit the ground running. Make sure you are positioned properly through ListGlobally’s global listing coverage and integrated platforms to help you secure new business.
The coronavirus crisis has now reached Europe, causing a considerable slowdown in everyone's daily routine. But what are the consequences of the ‘stuck-at-home’ scenario for potential buyers and users of the ListGlobally real estate portals?
The continual spread of coronavirus has caused a huge global economic impact across all industries. As every nation, and every individual is working their best to contain this spread and protect the economy, we would like to do our part to share some insights of the international real estate market to help agents’ weather through this crisis.
At ListGlobally, we believe data is really important for your business development. As such, we often publish our data results and make them available to real estate professionals globally. As we track consumer interest and the performance of listings, we are capable of detecting trends when it comes to foreign buyers worldwide.
If in the beginning of 2019, and after years of steady growth and low interest rates, many real estate and financial gurus expected a correction, and new opportunities to arise fuelled by technology, demographic changes, and the continued winding-down of traditional retail. But what will happen in 2020?
This will be a year where the high demand and lower mortgage rates will likely continue. However property prices will increase because there are a few listings coming into the market when compared to the demand. As such, some may focus on investing on expensive and higher-profit houses than low inventories of entry-level homes.
The economic diversity and a high quality of life will especially impact this year’s top ten markets for real estate investors and developers.
The inventory of homes for sale has been falling steadily for several years and that led to price increase, leading to an affordability issue. As demand increases, due to the growing number of millennials entering the market, the supply of homes for sale could hit its lowest in history. The situation will only be exacerbated by the baby boom generation. According to Realtors 2020 forecast, Millennials will dominate the housing market, accounting for 50% of all mortgages by spring, according to the forecast.
Even though there's a strong US economy that has driven the unemployment rate to record low levels, and even though sellers are motivated, they are likely to get fewer offers in total due to more buyers being priced out of the market as we can see on the graphic below.
One other proof of that is the Case Shiller Home Price Index in the US. This index reached an all-time high of 218.43 Index Points in October of 2019, making it difficult for first-time home-buyers to afford a home.
However, there's "mean-inversion," which can raise the probability of a market correction after years of a big run.
Technology will continue reshaping the real estate sector, and it will take a greater role in the financial ecosystem, moving into the space left by banks.
If in 2019, billions of dollars were already spend in new business models as us iBuyer platforms and in some Proptech Unicorns like WeWork and Katerra, in 2020 we might expect venture capitalists to be more cautious about their investments in real estate. Proptech money will probably follow big data start-ups that use artificial intelligence to automate various components of the real estate experience, from AI leasing assistants to mobile buying platforms.
Note that there will be also space for companies that develop virtual and self-guided tours.
To stay in the forefront of real estate, you must work with a foreign audience. You need to take the best tools available on the market to optimize time (for you and your customers).
ListGlobally is the world’s largest network of property portals (+100 portals in +60 countries). One click, and your property is promoted all over the globe reaching an international audience. We offer real estate agents international exposure, and we translate their listings details into 25 idiomas.