The unicorn years of real estate have come and gone, but that doesn’t mean it’s too late. Instead, we can learn how the unicorn years of real estate look now, in hindsight. We use that information to make better-informed decisions in today’s real estate market.
How the Unicorn Years of Real Estate Look Now
Looking back at how the unicorn years of real estate look now can help us make informed decisions in the future. There are different levels of understanding regarding the real estate market. Some are so well-versed that they can make market predictions, while others are busy dissecting the past to gain insight into what affects the market.
The problem is that everyone would love for the market to be black and white, easy to read, and easier to understand. But the real estate market is far from black and white. There are different mitigating factors that can be difficult to compare.
For example, comparing the unicorn years of real estate to today’s market is not as simple as spotting the difference. We are left without precision, which could lead to misleading headlines or conflicting study results.
We can still learn how the unicorn years of real estate look now to gain a better understanding of those gray areas. But what are the unicorn years all about?
The Unicorn Years
The unicorn years refer to the past years when there was a flood of buyers hitting the market. The global health crisis drastically changed our outlook on homeownership. We were spending a lot more time at home discovering our desires in a home.
People wanted more space and private outdoor space, a comfortable place to work remotely, and all of this caused a surge. First-time buyers and vacation homeowners took advantage of historically low mortgage rates.
But buyers aren’t the only determining factor in the real estate market. Foreclosures were also virtually eradicated; property values soared, making it the perfect market for everyone. We refer to these years as “unicorn years” of real estate.
But things returned to normal in many ways, bringing us back to normalcy in the housing market. Therein lies the problem when comparing housing markets with the unicorn years. Some may say the housing market is falling.
Is it possible that things are just returning to normal from the height of the unicorn market?
Buyer Demand
Learning how the unicorn years of real estate look now means looking at buyer demand. Look at any headline, and you may think that things are dropping too fast. But the numbers tell us a different story. More than 10,000 houses are being sold each and every day in the US.
It is true that buyer demand has fallen. However, that fall is in comparison to the unicorn years. Take those numbers and compare them to standard years past, and you will see that buyer demand is actually still higher than normal.
The graph above comes from ShowingTime, representing the buyers on the market from 2017 to 2023.
House Pricing
We are still learning how the unicorn years of real estate look now. But we can compare housing prices beyond those of the unicorn years. Freddie Mac indicates that we had record-breaking appreciation in 2020 and 2021. Of course, 2022 and 2023 have seen a sharp decline in home appreciation.
But we can see that home appreciation is actually back to normal numbers when compared to 2017, 2018, or 2019. It is important to remember that years prior to 2020 are more standard; 2020 and 2021 were the unicorn years.
What We Say…
Expect a series of alarming headlines surrounding the property market this year. Many of these will stem from misguided comparisons with the ‘exceptional’ years. Reach out so that you can have a knowledgeable ally to assist in maintaining the correct perspective. Contact us today to get started at (949)293-5139. You can also email us at Debbie@debbiemillerhomes.com.
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