Homebuyers will ‘gobble up’ houses for sale this summer, according to Barbara Corcoran, host of ABC’s Shark Tank and founder of the Corcoran Group, an New York City-based residential brokerage firm as interviewed by Yahoo! Finance.

Before the coronavirus pandemic, the U.S. did not have enough homes for sale to meet demand. But with sellers slow to re-enter the market because of the nationwide lockdowns and demand higher than ever, the U.S. has become an even more competitive market, said Corcoran.

For the week ending June 13, inventory was down 27% compared to last year, according to Realtor.com. Inventory hit a 25-year low in December 2019, with moderate improvement at the beginning of 2020. But it plunged when the pandemic hit the U.S. in mid-March and sellers pulled their homes off the market, according to an analysis by Odeta Kushi, deputy chief economist for First American Financial Corporation, a a Santa Ana, California-based provider of title insurance, settlement services and risk solutions for real estate transactions.

The coronavirus forced Americans to work from home and redefined how Americans see their home. Some Americans are now looking for new homes with bigger yards, home offices and more square footage, after spending months in lockdown. Studies also show that more buyers are now looking to the suburbs for their next home, according to Redfin. Plus, mortgage rates hit an all-time low this week, incentivizing even more buyers into the market.

When more people want a product than the market can supply, the price goes up. Home prices already rose to an all-time high before the pandemic, as homes in the U.S. sold for an average $384,900 in the first quarter of 2020 — well above highs before the Great Recession, which reached an average of $322,100 in its peak, according to the Federal Reserve of St. Louis.  With heightened demand, homes in the U.S. could get even more expensive this summer, according to economists.

Looking to shop outside - the Park City Farmers Market has opened at Park City Mountain Resort’s Silver King Lot. The market will follow COVID-19 guidelines to ensure the safety of the patrons as well as vendors according to the Park Record's Scott Iwasaki. The Farmer's Market will be open Wednesdays, 11 a.m.-noon for senior citizens; noon - 5 p.m. for general public at the Silver King parking lot at Park City Mountain Resort. The market will start with 20 vendor tents that will be 10 feet apart and will have at least two workers each. Handwshing stations will be setup and all vendors will be wearing gloves. parkcityfarmersmarket.com

The Salt Lake Tribune has shared that Ski resorts are gearing up for summer season with new features — and new rules to deal with COVID-19. It’s been a quiet three months in the mountains since COVID-19 caused Utah’s ski resorts to shut down their lifts and cordon off their restaurants in mid-March. Now those wilderness areas are beginning to show signs of life. Woodward Park City, which opened for some indoor sports on May 22, now is also allowing indoor trampolines and parkour and will open its rental shop. Sundance broke out its zip lines, stable, spa and lodging. Utah Olympic Park, though technically not a resort, opened June 4 with tubing and an alpine slide.

Summer has become an increasingly important season for resorts across the country, even before COVID-19 hit. According to the publication Ski Resort Management, revenue for resorts in the summer of 2016 was nearly twice what it was in 2007. During that time, the number of summer visitors rose nearly 45% , even as the cost of a summer visit went up nearly 30%.

This year, however, a successful summer could be critical to a resort’s survival. Consider that most ski areas this year closed prior to spring break, one of their three most lucrative times in the winter season. Those concerns have kept some resorts from jumping into the pool this summer. Solitude Mountain Resort, for example, has made some lodging available but otherwise has announced no plans to reopen.

SUMMER IS IN SESSION

A rundown of what area ski resorts are offering — or not offering — this summer:

Alta • Access to more than 13 miles of hiking trails will open on June 27; lodging expected to open July 1; Albion Basin campground opens July 17.

Beaver Mountain • Hiking and OHV trails open; camping for RVs only.

Brian Head Resort • Activities (disc golf, the zip line, archery, bungee trampoline, climbing wall, avalanche tubing and mountain biking) open Friday through Sunday starting June 26.

Brighton • Hiking trails to open after snowpack melts; Brighton Store is open.

Cherry Peak • All summer operations and concerts postponed.

Deer Valley • Lift-served biking, hiking, scenic rides and some restaurants open daily starting June 26.

Eagle Point • Self-accessed hiking and biking trails open; Canyonside Lodge opened Friday; Mountain Archery Festival scheduled for June 26-28.

Nordic Valley • Summer operations postponed.

Park City Mountain Resort • Alpine slide, mountain coaster, scenic lift rides, hiking and bike haul, and some restaurants scheduled to open Thursday-Sunday starting July 2.

Powder Mountain • Wolf Barn Short Track trail is open; other trails will open as snowpack melts.

Snowbasin Resort • Lift-served mountain biking, hiking and scenic rides via Needles Gondola, mini golf (limited to groups of six or fewer), and dining and mountaintop yoga at the Needles Lodge scheduled to open Saturdays and Sundays starting June 27.

Snowbird • Open daily for summer activities (aerial tram, alpine slide, mountain coaster and Chickadee chairlift), with some restaurants and lodging. Mountain biking off the tram on the Big Mountain Trail remains closed.

Solitude • Summer operations postponed.

Sundance • Open daily for summer activities (chairlift rides, hiking, mountain biking, zip line and stables), with some restaurants, lodging and the spa also open. Reservations required Friday through Sunday.

Utah Olympic Park • Open daily for alpine slide, extreme tubing, zip lining and ropes course in two-hour increments. Alf Engen Ski Museum and Eccles Salt Lake 2002 Olympic Winter Games Museum open and free, but masks are required.

Woodward Park City • Indoor and outdoor parks for wheeled sports, including scooter, skateboarding and BMX, and lift-served mountain biking open daily for a limited number of guests. Trampolines, parkour, gym floor and indoor airbags along with rental shop and food service also available.

Source: Ski Utah