MINNEAPOLIS — Wearing masks to open houses, disinfecting after a showing and virtual tours: COVID has changed the way we buy and sell homes, but it hasn’t put a damper on the greater Minneapolis real estate market.
Considering everything 2020 has thrown at us, local realtor Mark Parrish says inventory is low and houses in all price ranges are moving, “Right now the housing market is, I would say on fire.”
Although real estate is hot, the pandemic has altered what people want and where they want to live. “We’re seeing higher inventory levels in condo markets downtown, people are moving out. They’re going back to the old model of 'we want room, we want space, we want land.'”
However, if you own a home downtown Mark doesn’t think you have to fret. Instead, think of this as an opportunity. “If anything, on the flip side there’s going to be people looking at it as an excellent time to buy.”
Low interest rates are driving the market and even though no one has a crystal ball, Mark believes those rates will be sticking around for a while. That means those involved in the real estate game should buckle up for another fast ride in 2021.
Sales and listings slow during winter and historically pick up in early February. Even though that may seem like a long time away, if you’re thinking of listing Mark says now is the time to get ready, “We live in our homes different than we sell our homes. We have to take your home and we have to market it to the masses and what the masses are looking at today is affordability, location, and then its interior.”
If your home hasn’t been touched up in a while, get ideas for what’s hot by checking out some of the shows on HGTV, looking at designer trends online and going to open houses. Mark says you’ll definitely notice some similarities, “White, light grays, clean, crisp, very neutral, that’s what’s in right now. If you can get your house looking that way … again it will increase your odds of getting more and selling faster.”