During the coronavirus crisis, "unprecedented" has become the go-to adjective. The U.S. economy has experienced a record jump in unemployment, record-low mortgage rates and a whipsawing stock market.
All of that leaves the housing market in uncharted waters. "The biggest challenge is just overall uncertainty," says Michael Franco, head of mortgage firm SitusAMC. "Where is the economy headed? How is the government going to play it? Has unemployment peaked?"
Those are the questions atop everyone's minds. With the caveat that this crisis has perplexed nearly everyone who has tried to predict what's next, here are six trends for the housing market in the third quarter of 2020.
Trend 1: Home prices are holding up
Trend 2: Americans are migrating to the suburbs _ at least for now
Trend 3: Record-low rates are here to stay
Trend 4: Home shopping is going virtual
Trend 5: The mortgage process is going paperless
Trend 6: Millennials are entering their prime home-buying years
