Byron Lazine and Nicole White are two agents in Connecticut who give us their thoughts on the week’s news every Friday in “The Real Word,” a weekly video column on Inman.
With low mortgage rates and high buyer demand, is fall the new spring in real estate? A recent Inman article penned by Andrea V. Brambila claimed that’s the case this year, listing low mortgage interest rates, an increased need for spacious homes and more flexible timelines as potential factors during this pandemic.
“The fall market has always been, for my business, just as busy as the spring market has been,” Nicole said. Byron and Nicole discussed the fall market in their location, the impact of schools reopening in the area and what’s pushing the demand.
In addition, according to the article, National Association of Realtors Chief Economist Lawrence Yun stated that the 2020 housing market is already outperforming last year’s, with the activity predicted to continue.
“Real estate has been one of the few industries that has excelled during this whole entire thing, and the low rates have really helped that,” Byron said. “They’re saying low rates are going to continue into the next year.”
Also this week: More people are blending living and travel, as shown by an increase in Airbnb long-term bookings. After struggling through the early months of the pandemic, the company is now experiencing an increase in consumer spending, with so many people booking weeks at a time as work-from-home situations become the norm.
“It seems to be the most economic way to sort of get away and to do it without having to pay breakfast, lunch and dinner,” Nicole said, listing a few other reasons people might be springing for close-to-home Airbnb vacations in lieu of hotels.
Marketeer of the week
This week, Byron and Nicole highlighted Katie Day, who shared that Gen Blue 2020, Coldwell Banker’s virtual conference, is now free — plus a few other things to expect.
Want to nominate a “marketeer of the week”? Drop your thoughts in the comments section below, or shoot us an email.