How’s the condo market?

Since about last March, when the pandemic first hit and shut everything down, the condo market and the commercial markets have been the most impacted. Let’s talk about why:

Initial scare factor: When we were all first instructed to “Shelter in Place” (SIP) the virus was new and the ways it traveled and spread were not certain. The idea of riding in an elevator with co-tenants, or touching exercise equipment being used by a neighbor was terrifying. Just by default, co-living was immediately seen as risky.

Stay at Home, Be Inside: Once again, by default, when we were instructed to SIP this meant property owners/inhabitants without direct access to “private” outside space were stuck inside. Again, this felt restrictive and less than ideal.

Work from Home: Perhaps the most obvious consideration involved a sudden requirement to Work From Home for most of the workforce except essential workers. This meant overnight you needed a home office, a place to take zoom calls, room to escape from your remote-learning kids, etc. Again. by default, less than ideal.

All of these factors stalled the condo market which was poised to soar in February of 2020. Immediately we saw one bedroom condos without outdoor space take a hit… and the market continued downward for most of the year.

The first hint of a possible recovery came in November 2020 when there was a change in the administration and more news of an available vaccine. Since then, we have ever-so-slowly seen an uptick in condo interest. The fact is that condos remain a solid entry-level investment for buyers to begin building equity and creating their ownership portfolio. A condo can then be rented or resold and is typically less expensive than a single family home. Not to mentioned, less upkeep.

My prediction is that is will still take a while, but once we have more confidence in our ability to recover, more people getting the vaccine and our economy “opening up”, the condo market will recover. What does that mean for you today? Perhaps now is the time to take advantage of this window of opportunity…