Latest RCLCO Survey Finds Record-Low Sentiment Toward Real Estate

RCLCO’s end-of-year Sentiment Survey found real estate participants are significantly more negative about the housing market compared to 2019. The Real Estate Market Sentiment Index (RMI) closed out 2020 with a 31.6—the second lowest number ever recorded. But RCLCO remains optimistic about the future of the real estate market due to the strong and swift rebound of RMI between quarter three and four in 2020. The lowest level RMI ever recorded was 9.2 during the middle of 2020. Survey respondents are increasingly optimistic that the market will turn around and regulate sometime during the next year, says RCLCO.

This sense of optimism is reflected in the future RMI of 68.2 presaged by the survey respondents over the next 12 months, which is typically a value that is indicative of strong market conditions. This forward outlook is among the most optimistic recorded since year-end 2015.

Approximately two-thirds (67%) of respondents indicated that national real estate conditions were moderately or significantly worse when compared with one year ago. This is a marked improvement from the nearly 90% of respondents who claimed worsened conditions in Mid-2020, but does signal that conditions are getting better.

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