But local real estate agents say those projections don’t jive with what they are seeing on the ground, at least not in Lake Havasu City.
CoreLogic reports price growth is expected to stall out in June with a drop of 0.1 percent and remain slow throughout the summer. But the Havasu real estate market actually had a particularly productive June.
Nelson said 229 homes were sold during the month of June, which is more than any other month this year and exactly 60 more homes than were sold locally in June 2019.
“I attribute that to all of the people who have been quarantining here from California,” Nelson said. “They tell their friends how much of a good time they are having, and inviting them out to visit. I mean, try to find a vacation rental or an Airbnb in Havasu right now – It is very difficult.”
Nelson said that has resulted in even more people looking to buy homes than usual, and fighting over a limited inventory.
“The pent up demand is crazy, especially for new construction homes and pool homes right now,” he said. “The demand is higher than I have ever seen it before. My team alone closed 44 transactions last month, and our typical sales are in the 30s. So demand is way up. We need more houses to sell.”
While the report from CoreLogic admits activity until this point suggests the market will bounce back, it said its forecasted decrease in home prices is largely due to elevated unemployment. Mohave County has been particularly hard hit by unemployment since the start of the pandemic, with the second highest unemployment rate of any county in Arizona at 13.8%.
Nelson said unemployment may well have a negative effect on the community, particularly if unemployed residents end up having to sell their homes. But with the current demand, he said several hundred homes would have to hit the market in a short timeframe in order to bring about a market correction.
“It’s unfortunate that if unemployment causes a house to fail we are going to lose that person who lives here and that home will most likely be a second home or a vacation home,” he said. “That is good for business, but it is not that great for our community – I don’t think.”