Source: Zillow

People seem to be either selling their houses or hunkering down in these times.

They are moving from the city to the suburbs, and the listings aren’t lasting a week before they’re sold, often for more than asking price.

The Post-Covid housing market is one of growing prices and liquidity, at least for the time being. Think about it, would you rather live in an apartment or house during a lock down?

What about working from home? An affordable house is a great investment with all the tax incentives and low interest rates, but people are seeming to need more space as they are staying home.

Let’s look at how this affects the construction, home improvement and service industries like landscaping.

Oh So Expensive – House Money

House prices are at all time highs. Zero inventory, increases in materials costs, labor shortages and low interest rates all create the perfect storm.

Add in a pandemic and a sharp increase in work from home and you have a massive buildup in housing demand.

My Grandfather, a veteran, recorded a tape in 1975 where he speaks to his brother stationed in Germany about finances – his pay and mortgage.

House prices are growing more at 3 times inflation, and housing has grown as much as 8 times inflation as shown in this video.

That’s great for people that currently own homes and their value. If they sell, they’ll have to pay for this inflation, usually on a more expensive property.

Location, Location, Location

I’m not sure if you’ve noticed all the new construction lately. The boom started before the pandemic in Spring of 2020, and has already become more desperate.

At the time of writing this, I literally drive by a lot being prepared to lay a foundation. This lot is directly on a busy road near a highway on-ramp, on a tiny parcel of land barely suitable to hold a house, on a half hill with a slope that would scare an Olympic Skier.

Moving Expenses

Moving is expensive in both time and money. It takes a lot of energy, so a smart person would only move if it is beneficial to them.

When you sell a house, you not only have to fix everything up to get top dollar – scrape it, paint it, stage it, but you have to pay 4-6% to a real estate agent and also half the transfer fee to the state.

Moving is not only expensive, but stressful.

Here in New Hampshire where I live, that’s 1.5%, or an additional .75% when split between buyer and seller. $750 per hundred thousand in home value to sell your home times two if you’re buying a new home – going to the state coffers. No wonder real estate agents are so well revered in local communities – they generate a lot of tax revenue.

So let’s do some rough math – A $300k house sold is losing around $15-25,000 in fees. Then you have to move. That’s another few grand, plus a couple of months living out of boxes.

We’re also talking New England house prices – if you’re doing this in California the average house price is pushing 600k, and that’s including all the little desert houses. In Los Angeles county, you are easily over that price for a starter home, even with the lockdowns.

Fix’er Up – Home Improvement

This makes home renovations that much more enticing, saving all the money and hassle by not moving and instead putting it into their house and making the property better.

There is a pool building boom in Maine! Not exactly what I’d prime outdoor pool territory, but definitely makes the hot summers more bearable.

People don’t move because their windows aren’t energy efficient or their roof leaks – they move because they want more space or a better location. They want something new.

Something New for Homeowners

PanelMasonry is NEW. It allows average homeowners to have exciting features in their backyards that were previously out of reach due to construction costs.

It upgrades their home and backyard, adding value and enjoyment to what they already have.

Forget a new grill, how about a new outdoor kitchen? Paradise is closer than we think.

Panel Masons are authorized installers of ClifRock Outdoor Living products.

Panel Masonry is NOT DIY

Weekend warriors can’t do PanelMasonry. You can’t go to Home Depot, grab a couple bags of ‘crete and put together an outdoor kitchen in your spare time. This is not a Do It Yourself home improvement project.

You have to be trained and authorized as a Panel Mason to have the supplies necessary to build outdoor living spaces flush with fire and water features for a fraction of the cost of traditional masonry.