What will real estate look like in 2021? – Emilio DiSpirito

By Emilio DiSpirito, License Partner/Real Estate Advisor with Engel & Völkers Rhode Island

If I had to count how many times a day people tell me, “I’m going to wait for the market to crash before moving forward”, I’d tell you 3 times per day on average.

As a real estate advisor, it’s my job to provide consumers with information, so they can make highly educated decisions on large real estate acquisitions. Maybe they are buying a luxury waterfront home, small vacation home, here in Rhode Island, new construction, downsizing, first home, or maybe they are buying a multi-family. We deal with a large audience of buyers and sellers here in Rhode Island and provide them with timely information and projections on the market.

With that said, I wanted to share information on where we believe the 2021 real estate market will be, so that you can make the best-informed decision when selling or buying real estate. Now keep in mind, markets are different from neighborhood to neighborhood, never mind from state to state and region to region!

First of all, let’s address the elephant in the room… can we compare 2021 to 2008 and 2009 real estate? Would you compare World War II to Vietnam? No, you would not, because they were two different conflicts, with two entirely different enemies.

The market in 2009 fell apart simply because banks were lending too much money to unqualified buyers. I mean, lenders who were in the business then, had told me about “stated income” loans, where the consumer just had to present a business card and tell them what they made, in order to get financing on whatever it was they wanted. Yea… that’s a pretty big problem when you have people with $4,500 mortgage payments that are truly only qualified for $1,500 per month. Far too many people went into default and before you knew it, the foreclosure wave hit every neighborhood, tearing prices down 40% to 60% in many areas!! It took several years to climb out of that hole!

According to Corelogics, a real estate data collection company, the average homeowner in Rhode Island gained $29,000 in equity over 2019 and 37% of Americans own their homes outright, while the average homeowner in the United States has roughly $194,000 in equity… the highest ever on record!

2021 currently is continuing to boast the lowest mortgage rates on record with the lowest amount of homes for sale here in Rhode Island, ever on record. Low inventory with low rates will allow for demand to skyrocket, in addition to pricing. We are anticipating a 6% to 10% price increase this year in Rhode Island!

Concerns loom over the new Presidential Administration and their policies may impact the future of the housing market, however the strongest economists anticipate 2021 to be a very strong year again for real estate. Consult with your real estate advisor for detailed information on your market and weigh out your options.

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If you would have asked me what I wanted to be growing up, little Emilio would have told you “an archeologist” or “an architect” despite the fact that at age 8 I had my first lemonade stand, landscaping business and was recording my first “news show” on my boombox!  Well, I never was much good at trigonometry and did could not see myself traveling for months and possibly years at a time, so becoming an architect or archaeologist clearly did not happen!

Fast forward 26 years later and I’m running a team of the finest residential real estate professionals, own a media company and host my very own radio news show about real estate!

In September of 2017, I married my best friend, Jaclynn, and we have two wonderful children, Destinee and Emilio, V.  We have 3 dogs, one of which is a rescue and live in lovely Rhode Island. Jaclynn owns a high-end hair salon in addition to an on-location hair and makeup business!

For 7 years straight it seemed that I had put in more hours than the day had to give on my real estate business. 7 days a week, 14 to 16 hour days, without a break! Why? My friends and family did not understand the sheer magnitude of moving parts and services we offer to our clients during a transaction! One slip up or one missed call could mean make or break for someone’s dream home or even a lost deposit!

Running a team of like-minded, highly qualified and capable professionals has allowed me to offer a very streamlined, simplified and efficient approach to the sales process for our clients and allowed me to earn personal time again with my family while not missing a beat for my clients!

When I’m not working, I’m with my family, riding my mountain bike, eating at a number of local restaurants, enjoying live entertainment, hiking, skiing or reading!

Contact:  [email protected]