In late 2019, economists and real estate experts made predictions for 2020 mortgage and real estate trends, only to have many of those predictions be wide of the mark because of the unforeseeable COVID-19 pandemic. As we settle into the second half of 2020, experts have offered the following new predictions for how market trends will look for the remainder of the year:

Rates  – Original predictions held that rates wouldn’t move much from the end of 2019 to the end of 2020. While rates have reached record lows over the past several months, experts believe it’s possible the rates for a 30-year fixed mortgage could fall even lower this autumn season.

Inventory  – Home inventory across the U.S. was originally expected to be low and is predicted to remain low through the end of 2020 and beyond.

Home Sales  – Many experts originally believed lack of affordability would decrease home sales nationwide in 2020. The experts are now discussing the possibility of home sales increasing as the economy reopens.

Refinance  – The refinance boom that we have seen in 2020 was unexpected but could begin to slow as we enter the later months of the year. Many experts attribute this likelihood to there now being a smaller pool of potential refinancers.

3D Home Tours  – 3D home tours became far more common in early 2020 as social distancing and stay-at-home orders prevented buyers from viewing homes in person. It’s likely that 3D tours will continue to grow in popularity now that we have seen their benefit in allowing buyers to view multiple homes online and narrow down their list of homes to see in person.

For more information on trends for the remainder of 2020, read  this article  from MarketWatch.