Housing Market Saw Boom in 2020 Amid Pandemic

Housing Market Saw Boom in 2020 Amid Pandemic

New at six -- while the pandemic has affected a lot of industries negatively -- one, in particular, seems to be doing just fine here in madison county.

That's the housing market.

In fact in 2020 -- the average number of days a house was on the market was 26.

That's down from 43 in the previous year.

And nearly 8,500 homes were sold this year in the county - that's an average of 23 every day.

Waay31's megan reyna spoke to home buyers about what its been like finding a house in this competitive market.

Megan says:"the houses were in a very quick turn-over time when we came out here."

Reyes says:"houses don't really last more than three days."

Like many people moving to madison county -- it was the job that brought both the kannenberg's and fernando reyes to the area.

Both buying homes within this pandemic.

But what they didn't expect was how competitive the market would be.

Reyes says:"once you try to go see a house and viewing, usually the seller tells you they already have more than one offer."

The reality is -- homes are going quick.

North alabama has been pacing above national trends for several years.

Just in november -- 729 homes were sold.

Friedman says:"this year even with the pandemic, it has been crazy busy, we're still selling homes.

People are still moving into the area.

Jobs are still available and as long as jobs are available, people are going to move.

So that's what is really driving our market right now."

Zelda friedman with the huntsville area association of realtors said it's a perfect time for people to sell their home since not enough new homes are being built to keep up with the demand.

Friedman says:"i do know that some communities have waiting lists that are not finished, i do know that we still have buyers moving into the area that are wanting homes."

For reyes -- he moved here a year ago.

He wanted to take his time looking at the market.

He ended up choosing to go with a new build that'll be ready around april.

Reyes says:"if you're not in a hurry, that'd be the better option.

I'm not in a hurry."

But for megan and josh kannenberg... the couple was coming from colorado and didn't want to wait.

They knew they wanted to buy a home rather than rent... and had to move quickly.

Megan says:"the house that we ended up buying had been on the market for two weeks, which is really long period of time for most of the houses which are going in less than five days."

Both say while it was stressful at times... it's important to do your research... find a reliable realtor... and act quick when you can.

Megan says:"my other piece of advice, just have fun.

It's a really fun process to kind of you know purchase a house and imagine yourself living in a different place, it's just really fun and can be a really enjoyable process."

Reporting in hsv mr waay 31 news.

Zelda friedman - whom you heard from with the huntsville area association of realtors - said while this year's statistics aren't dramatically different from last year's -- it's impressive the market continues to be on an upward trend even amid 10 months of