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6 Songs That Say It All About the Spring Housing Market

Who doesn’t love spring? Whether you’re firing up the barbecue in your new backyard or driving around visiting open houses this weekend, here’s a six-pack of carefully picked songs that relate to this spring’s white-hot housing market. Listen to them on the go with this Spotify playlist. Enjoy! And please keep the home-tour dancing to a minimum.

‘Stay,’ by Kygo, featuring Maty Noyes

This dance track by Kygo is getting a lot of play these days. In it, Maty Noyes struggles with a decision to leave or stay with her lover. (Spoiler: She stays.) The single biggest issue holding back sales in today’s real estate market is an inadequate number of available homes to meet the soaring demand. Existing home supply has been skintight for 43 straight months, as homeowners have elected to stay in their homes instead of selling to move up, get into a better neighborhood, or downsize.

Part of the reason for this is the number of homeowners who remain underwater or who just don’t have enough equity to improve their current housing situation. Tight credit also plays a role, as owners who bought 10 years ago or more may not be able to qualify for a new mortgage today.

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‘You Don’t Own Me,’ by Grace, featuring G-Eazy

G-Eazy and Grace go at it with style in this feminist anthem. I see a parallel struggle between the renter and the landlord, especially at a time when we’re seeing rents increase substantially in markets across the country. Yes, renters don’t own their homes, so they rarely have the freedom to change them in any way. But they aren’t tied down, either. So if those leases just keep going up like this, few will choose to stay. Right?

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‘Light It Up,’ by Major Lazer, featuring Nyla

There’s no question, Major Lazer has given us the perfect dance track for this spring housing market. With a hot reggae style, Nyla sings “Set it ablaze like a candle wick; hotter, hotter, hotter, hotter, hotter.” Last year set us up for this spring buying season as the recovering economy coupled with a tight supply of housing left many would-be buyers unfulfilled. Pent-up demand started this year’s spring buying season early, giving us the fastest-moving inventory in a decade.

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‘This Is What You Came For,’ by Calvin Harris, featuring Rihanna

I expect this new dance track will rule the airwaves this summer as many of this spring’s buyers close on their perfect home. We’re seeing over a half-million new listings hit the market each month to improve the odds of finding a home. And the bonus this year is the increased buying power of lower mortgage rates. The homes are what they came for, but locking in historically low mortgage rates will make them want to dance.

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‘No,’ by Meghan Trainor

This song has been on the charts for several weeks since its release, but I couldn’t resist choosing it to highlight one of the biggest problems potential buyers will face. The low rates are tantalizing and enable a level of purchasing power that is 40% greater than the historical average. However, credit availability remains very tight such that most successful mortgage applicants have well above average credit scores. If you don’t have excellent credit, multiple years of consistent reported income, and, in most cases, a substantial down payment, the typical lender will likely say, “Nah to the ah to the no, no, no.”

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‘Don’t Let Me Down,’ by the Chainsmokers, featuring Daya

My views of the market are data-driven—and so is my forecast for home sales to grow 5% this year over last year. But a sale requires both demand and supply. For more than a year now, demand has been greater than supply. If builders would step up and see the growth opportunity in more affordable price points, they could see new construction recover to a normal level. Likewise, if more existing homeowners would realize that now is the perfect time to sell, we would see supply and demand become more balanced. Builders and owners, do you hear your potential buyers singing, “I need you, I need you, I need you right now?” Don’t let me down.

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