A majority of real estate investors in the U.S. say they’re optimistic about the strength of the housing market, despite the nation caught in a recession caused by the pandemic. A new survey from LendingHome, a resource for investors, reflects 600 respondents among three investment segments: house flippers, landlords of single-family rental homes, and real estate investment mortgage brokers.
Eighty percent of the investors surveyed say they believe the impact of the pandemic on their business will be short. Forty-two percent say they expect the pandemic to influence their business for one to six months, and 12% said it would not impact them at all.
Fifty-seven percent of investors rated their feelings about real estate investing as positive.
“There was more optimism than we expected, and we were a bit surprised,” says Matt Humphrey, co-founder and CEO of LendingHome. “When we asked people to tell us how they were adapting, some folks said they were slowing their business as a precaution. Some said they had picked up the pace of home buying because there was less competition. Every corner of the U.S. had a different view on things. But overall, within the next year or less, people expect to be fully back in business.”
Investors’ optimism is based on several factors, including that more Americans are working remotely and they believe that will prompt more owners to decide their current home is not adequate enough to support that and will desire a change. Also, some investors say they’re looking for smaller projects that would be quicker flips than they did prior to the pandemic to take advantage of a sudden rise in buyer demand.
Source: “LendingHome Survey: Real Estate Investors Optimistic Despite COVID-19,” LendingHome (June 23, 2020)
