About Marco Santarelli

Marco Santarelli is an investor, author, Inc. 5000 entrepreneur, and the founder of Norada Real Estate Investments – a nationwide provider of turnkey cash-flow investment property. His mission is to help 1 million people create wealth and passive income and put them on the path to financial freedom with real estate. He’s also the host of the top-rated podcast – Passive Real Estate Investing.

California Real Estate Market 2020 Overview

September 24, 2020 by Marco Santarelli

Updated: Sep 24, 2020. We will discuss the latest California housing market prices and trends and find out how they can affect the buyers & sellers in the coming months. After home sales bounced back in June, the California housing market continued to improve in August 2020 as home sales climbed to their highest level in more than a decade. The median home price followed the trend by hitting another high, breaking July's record. Lowest interest rates ever are bringing many motivated buyers into the market, which has led to the fastest sales growth in the California real estate market in a decade, as reported by C.A.R.

Sales for existing single-family home sales climbed above the 400,000 level for the second straight month since the COVID-19 crisis depressed the California housing market earlier this year. Sales were up 6.3 percent from July and up 14.6 percent from August 2019. This is an indication that buyers and sellers are beginning to realize that real estate deals can still be conducted despite the coronavirus pandemic. Sales of higher-priced properties are recovering faster than the rest of the market. August’s statewide median home price was $706,900, up 6.1 percent from July and up 14.5 percent from August 2019.

The yearly price increase was the highest recorded since March 2014 and larger than the six-month average of 4.3 percent observed between February 2020 to July 2020. The Central Coast and the San Francisco Bay Area had the strongest sales growth in August with both regions surging more than 10 percent in sales year over year. Zillow reports that the statewide median home value had gone up by 5.5% over the past year and going into 2021, home-price appreciation would pick up again and increase by 5.0% (August 2021).

Housing affordability is improving California due to lower mortgage rates combined with fewer new homes being constructed as the construction supply chain is impaired. This could lead to a more upward pull on California home prices. Unsold inventory is already at low levels (2.1 months), and reduced construction activity means that is likely to continue—especially if buyers respond to lower rates. The latest housing statistics for August 2020 are given below.

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Chicago Real Estate Market 2020 Overview

September 22, 2020 by Marco Santarelli

We'll be discussing the latest Chicago real estate market trends. The Chicago housing market recorded positive month-to-month and year-over-year increases in both prices and sales, reversing two months of declines in sales, a great sign that the market is bouncing back from the COVID-19 pandemic. In the Chicago Metro Housing Market, which comprises of the nine counties, home sales (single-family and condominiums) were up 12.0 percent from July 2019 sales. The median price in July was $277,000 in the Chicago Metro Area, an increase of 6.9 percent from $259,000 in July 2019, according to Illinois Realtors.

The city of Chicago saw year-over-year home sales increase 0.6 percent with 2,725 sales in July, compared to 2,708 a year ago. The median price of a home in the city of Chicago in July was $330,000, up 7.5 percent from July 2019. The City of Chicago’s inventory is down 12.0%, from 10,343 homes in July 2019 to 9,104 homes in July 2020. The month’s supply of inventory declined 8.5%, from 4.7 in July 2019 to 4.3 in July 2020.

What are the predictions for the coming months? The median price forecast for Chicago Primary Metropolitan Statistical Area is 7.2% in August, 8.9% in September, and 6.7% in October. The sales forecast for August, September, and October suggests an increase on a yearly basis and a decrease on a monthly basis for both Illinois and the Chicago PMSA (source: Illinois Realtors®).

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San Diego Real Estate Market & Investment Overview 2020

September 21, 2020 by Marco Santarelli

Home prices are rising across the Southern California housing market despite the pandemic. San Diego area is also a strong seller’s real estate market. For sellers, now is the opportune time to put their San Diego home up for sale. Inventory is low, prices are rising, and pent-up demand alongside low mortgage rates has the market flooded with homebuyers. The pricing of homes is trending higher and is more attractive for sellers in the current phase. The shortage of supply and an increase in the demand for housing will push the prices higher in the San Diego housing market.

In August 2020, sales of single-family homes increased by 10.2% y-o-y, affirming that there is a strong demand among homebuyers in the area. Pending sales have also increased over the last 3 months in San Diego County. Home prices across the San Diego metro area are rising steadily in 2020. Due to the pandemic, it was expected that the home prices would remain flat or drop a bit in the coming months to favor buyers. That was a much-awaited condition for homebuyers who cannot afford a home in the median price. But that's not the case.

The median sold price of single-family homes increased by a whopping 12.7% year-over-year to $650,000. Earlier in July, the median price had increased by 10.6%. The San Diego home prices have increased by 6% from June to July of 2020. According to the latest San Diego real estate market update for August 2020, inventory of single-family homes has dropped 51.2%. That is one reason we see a drop of 2.2% in sales as compared to the previous month (July). There is a severe shortage of available properties for sale in the San Diego real estate market.

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Kansas City Real Estate Market & Investment Overview 2020

September 17, 2020 by Marco Santarelli

The Kansas City real estate market is very hot and in many ways the envy of housing pundits on both coasts. Despite the COVID pandemic causing huge unemployment and impaired consumer confidence in real estate buying and selling, the Kansas City housing prices are soaring. Based on the FHFA all-transactions home price index, typical home values in the Kansas City MSA in the 2nd quarter of 2020 rose by 4.8 percent compared to the same quarter in 2019.

Home sales in the Kansas City area totaled 4,130 units in August, down 2.9 percent from the same month in 2019. Year-to-date, 27,424 homes have sold, down from 27,712 over the same period in 2019. The sale price of homes in the metro also continues to rise and sellers are still getting more for their houses than they did this time last year. The average price of homes sold in August was $284,480, compared to $253,090 in August 2019. Homes that sold in August were on the market an average of 39 days and sold for 99.4 percent of their original asking prices, according to the data released by the Kansas City Regional Association of Realtors.

The Kansas City real estate market was already competitive before the coronavirus, with Kansas City home prices rising faster than most U.S. cities. A lack of inventory across the metropolitan area is the biggest driver of the rising prices. But in Kansas City, there is only about one month of supply of available homes for sale — which an indicator of Kansas City being a strong seller's real estate market. Zillow research shows Kansas City, Cincinnati, Columbus, and Raleigh among the nation’s fastest-moving large markets with sellers typically accepting offers after only four days on the market.

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US Housing Market Forecast 2020 & 2021: Crash or Boom?

September 15, 2020 by Marco Santarelli

Here are the updated housing market trends & predictions for 2020 & 2021. Home buying and selling prospects drastically improved in August as economic concerns continued to ease for both buyers and sellers. Significant uncertainty remains for the housing market going into the fall, as the economy faces a long and bumpy recovery in the upcoming months. Nonetheless, real estate is still a hot seller's market and improved selling prospects are a good sign and will need to remain on that path to bring more homes into the market.

Record-low mortgage rates and shortage of inventory has kept the US housing market strong with respect to buyer demand. With unusually high buyer interest this late in the homebuying season, buyers are moving much faster than this time last year to beat out competition and lock in low mortgage rates. The national median listing price on Realtor.com was $350,000, up 10.1 percent year-over-year while prices rose 8.9 percent in larger markets. While rising prices are making sellers rejoice and list more & more homes, the buyers are worried as home prices rose during the lockdown and could rise even further due to heavy buyer competition and a significant shortage of supply.

The new listings are quickly taken out of the market from heavy buyer competition. Therefore, housing units are still in short supply with unsold inventory sitting at a 3.1-month supply at the current sales pace, down from 3.9 months in June and down from the 4.2-month figure recorded in July 2019. This figure is a sign of a strong seller's real estate market. The national inventory has declined by 36.4 percent year-over-year, and inventory in large real estate markets has decreased by 38.1 percent in August.