Sales of Newly Built Homes Are Skyrocketing Due to Coronavirus

According to recently released figures, home builders in June saw the strongest sales since the last housing boom happened.

John Burns Real Estate Consulting, which mirrored the U.S. Census report, has found through their monthly survey that sales of newly built homes had jumped 55% annually in June.

This jump was the largest annual gain since homebuilding began again following the housing crash ten years ago. It is also the highest pace since the height of the unprecedented housing boom in 2005.

The coronavirus pandemic is the likely reasons for the sudden surge as more people are leaving the cities and going to the suburbs.

“The anecdotal evidence is overwhelming. Sales in the distant commuter areas are the most robust,” said John Burns, founder and CEO of JBRC. “I believe a lot of computer-oriented people have proven to their co-workers that they can be productive from home, and have sensed, or officially been given the green light, to work from home at least a significant portion of the time after a vaccine has been found.”

Arizona-based builder Taylor Morrison’s survey has also shown a 94% annual jump in June home sales.

“There is a bias to new. When I look at the research that our teams have been doing over the last 12 to 14 weeks, people are quoting, they want new, fresh, a place where wellness features will really make sense for them,” said Sheryl Palmer, CEO of Taylor Morrison recently in an interview on CNBC’s “Closing Bell.”

She added, “Most recently, we’re really seeing a pickup in folks saying they want more rural or suburban locations. Initially, there was a lot of talk about that, but it’s really coming through our buyers today.”