Over the past six months I’ve asked several seasoned real estate veterans what their outlook for our local housing market is. “Imagine if we had a crystal ball,” one said. “We sure wouldn’t be here now.” 

We all still vividly remember the mid-March shutdown of 2020 and the creeping panic that followed; checking and double checking the essential and nonessential list; preparing for schooling and childcare, stocking our pantries, and wondering what was to come.

Imagine if we knew that the pandemic and subsequent stay at home orders would drive our Andover and Lake Sunapee Region average home sales up 23% (*New England Real Estate Network Jan-Nov ’19-’20). Would you have invested differently? 

Rewind to the market peak of 2006 and 2007 and the subsequent crash. The cliche is that hindsight is always 20/20, and maybe it’s fitting, or ironic, how unpredictable a year it was (being 2020). So where would we be if we had that crystal ball? On a white sandy beach, of course!

Looking ahead, 2021 is just as enigmatic. Here is the fact, though: our local real estate markets are remarkably strong. Since last winter, we’ve seen a slow and steady trickle of homes coming for sale, and the high buyer demand is gobbling them up. 

However, two important scenarios could change these favorable conditions: a flood of homes for sale would increase competition and drop prices, or a completely stagnant selling market could continue to increase prices and halt our productive market activity. Many professionals I’ve spoken with suggest that the latter is a more realistic possibility.

Another unique characteristic of our local and national markets continue to be the historically low interest rates. Jessica Hooper, Bar Harbor Bank and Trust’s assistant vice president mortgage loan originator says: “Despite many of the challenges that 2020 presented, home lending had one of its most successful years on record! Driven by historical low interest rates that led to increased affordability in the housing market, the opportunity to capitalize on these low rates to purchase a new home or refinance an existing mortgage remains strong as we start 2021.”

If you have real estate goals for 2021 or are interested in the market, stay in close contact with your local real estate agent. If you are hoping to make a purchase this year, hire a buyer’s agent and begin the pre-approval process. You never know when the right home will come!