Economists who track home price appreciation are stunned by the statistics for 2020. Even in outlying suburbs and semi-rural areas, prices for large, detached houses have escalated dramatically since COVID started.

“Strong demand drove intense competition among buyers -- causing homes to fly off the market. Housing market gains were the biggest in 15 years,” says Zillow economist Treh Manhertz.

Moreover, housing analysts predict that given the severe shortage of available properties, the price increases will only accelerate this year. That’s one reason more house-hungry buyers are now pushing the geographical limits in search of a spacious property they can afford.

“COVID is causing many young families to change their priorities. People who once craved city living are now open to owning in the deep suburbs if they can find a huge ‘forever house’ with all the bells and whistles,” says Stacy Berman, a veteran agent who’s sold property since 2002.

One reason families now wish to upsize is that during the pandemic they’ve experienced the space constraints involved with crowded family living.

“Many parents are now working from home. In addition, the kids are home all the time, with the older ones attending school from their bedrooms. Space and privacy are very limited, which is frustrating,” Berman says.

The closure of many gyms during the pandemic has caused more people to develop home-based fitness routines. Also, many families have recently adopted a dog, which calls for a large yard where the pet can romp.

Eric Tyson, a personal finance expert, says buyers considering properties in outlying areas are also looking for affordability.

“Typically, the further outside a metro area that you buy, the lower the cost per square foot of living space. That’s what real estate agents mean when they say buyers 'drive until they qualify,’” says Tyson, co-author of “Home Buying for Dummies.”

In the COVID era, he says many families want to upsize their housing with a spacious place that features an oversized kitchen, multiple bedrooms for home offices and a yard large enough for weekend volleyball.

Berman tells the true story of a couple in their 20s with a young baby who recently retreated from an urban lifestyle in Manhattan to buy a farmhouse in rural upstate New York. Despite the major change, they’re assuming the new lifestyle will please them indefinitely and that both parents will be permitted to continue working remotely for their New York-based companies.

But Berman cautions buyers against short-term thinking.

“Before you commit to a house in an outlying area, make sure your employer will let you keep working remotely after COVID. Otherwise, your commute could prove impossible,” she says.

Here are a few other pointers for pandemic-period buyers:

-- Commit your lifestyle plans to paper.

Where you choose to live has countless implications, says Doro Kiley, a certified life coach who’s helped a number of clients navigate real estate transitions. She urges clients to make a home choice within the context of their overall life plans.

“Always begin by thinking about the end product -- what you’d really like as opposed to what you would settle for,” Kiley says.

Once you have a clear vision of your ideal home and location, you can begin taking into account such practical realities as financial limits and commuting distances.

Kiley recommends that couples planning a home purchase first write down their respective visions of a dream house -- including both location and home features. They should then share their visions, combining the key elements of both into a single statement.

-- Factor in the realistic demands of a large lot.

Many people with young children hang on tightly to the hope that their kids will have a large backyard where they can play, just as they did years ago. This aspiration can influence them to pick an outlying area at the expense of their convenience and commuting time.

But are the tradeoffs necessary to acquire a large piece of land always worth it? Not necessary, says Merrill Ottwein, a Coldwell Banker broker, noting that in the post-COVID period, children will likely spend more time in organized athletic and recreational activities than did their parents.

-- Take your time when selecting a property.

Nowadays, those seeking a home in many popular areas face fierce competition from other bidders. They feel pressured to act quickly, lest they lose out to a rival. In the process, Ottwein says some buyers are now taking regrettable shortcuts -- rushing into a purchase without analyzing whether the property they buy truly matches both their primary wants and needs.

“With so much at stake, it’s a horrible idea to buy any house before you’re really ready. Don’t let your competitive instincts trick you into the wrong choice,” he says.

(To contact Ellen James Martin, email her at ellenjamesmartin@gmail.com.)

During much of 2020, multiple bidding wars frustrated vast numbers of wannabe homebuyers. Yet such real estate wars are expected to be even more intense in popular neighborhoods during the upcoming springtime selling season.

“This has been the frothiest market I’ve ever seen,” says Glenn Kelman, the CEO of Redfin (redfin.com), a national realty brokerage. To illustrate, he tells how in many areas, eager buyers are bringing lawn chairs and lining up outside open houses.

The obvious root of the problem is that buyer demand for properties is outstripping supply.

“Home price growth and time on market show the effects of plenty of buyers and not enough sellers. Prices are rising, and homes are selling faster,” says Danielle Hale, the chief economist for Realtor.com, the home listing company.

Aaron Norris, a longtime real estate analyst and investor, expects buyers to face a fiercely competitive market throughout the country in coming months.

“Spring will likely be hot, and the Biden administration seems determined to throw fuel on the flames. Discussions on forgiving college debt and a first-time buyer tax credit of $15,000 could help get an entire generation into homebuying in a market already tight on inventory,” says Norris, a vice president at PropertyRadar (propertyradar.com), a data analysis firm for real estate investors and brokers.

Norris urges those hoping to buy a property early this year to get a jump-start on rival purchasers and not wait until spring is in full bloom.

“You have to realize that buyers will be coming out in droves this spring. So, get all your ducks in a row right now and start looking,” he says.

What can buyers do immediately to increase their odds of scoring the purchase in a high-demand area? One step is to establish a relationship with a mortgage lender who can make sure they’re pre-approved for a purchase.

“You might as well get your 2020 taxes done now. Anyway, you’ll need your W-2s and likely also your tax returns when applying for a mortgage,” Norris says.

Here are a few other pointers for hopeful buyers:

-- Search for sellers in a rush to move.

Dorcas Helfant, a former president of the National Association of Realtors (nar.realtor), says the owners of upscale homes are no different from any other category of owners: Some are much more driven to sell than are others.

Some owners have no particular timeline that’s drawing them forward. Such “discretionary sellers” would like to liquidate their properties, but will readily defer their plans should they be unable to obtain the price they want.

In contrast, motivated sellers have well-defined reasons for moving. Life events such as divorce or job changes are commonly behind the need for a quick sell.

Sellers in a rush are more likely to negotiate in earnest.

Often, a home’s owners will indicate openly what’s prompting them to sell -- or they’ll permit their listing agent to do so. Alternatively, your agent can often learn more about the sellers’ circumstances or timing through polite inquiries.

-- Consider listings that have sat unsold for a lengthy time.

Sometimes truly motivated sellers hold out longer than they should, discounting their overly high list price only after they’ve become desperate.

“Sellers usually get a wake-up call after they’ve had no showings in a month or so and their denial on price has worn off,” Helfant says.

In neighborhoods where the supply of available homes is less than demand, a few sellers will still cling to an over-market price until their property becomes stigmatized.

“Even fabulous homes in excellent condition can linger unsold for weeks. Buyers who wait until deep price cuts occur can be richly rewarded for their patience,” Helfant says.

-- Attempt to improve your odds with a personal letter.

Those trying to buy in the current frenzied market often face stiff competition for properties that are well located and fairly priced. No one wants to lose a place to other bidders. But to outdo rivals, it’s not always necessary to offer the highest price.

Norris says sellers sometimes respond favorably to a personal letter attached to an offer.

“Tell the buyers how much you love their property and would enjoy living there. Also tell them about plans to raise a family in the house if that’s your intention. With so much loneliness during this pandemic, a handwritten letter practically brings tears to people’s eyes,” Norris says.

He recalls that when selling a 5,000-square-foot house, his father was swayed by such a letter from a young couple with a 10-year-old son. The parents weren’t the highest bidders, but they still prevailed because of the personal touch.

“My father fell in love with this family and their dreams. He was willing to sell for somewhat less because he wished to help them fulfill their plans,” Norris says.

-- Stay focused on your end goal.

Getting a good value is always a positive in a home-buying situation. But especially for those who expect to hold a place for more than five years, it can sometimes be worth a slightly over-market bid to outdo others for a place they truly love.

“If the property you’ve found is exceptional and really meets your long-held desires, it could be wise to offer a small premium,” Helfant says.

(To contact Ellen James Martin, email her at ellenjamesmartin@gmail.com.)

For those wishing to sell a home this coming spring, expectations are exceptionally high.

On the one hand, the new administration in Washington promises to promote housing with a proposed $15,000 tax credit for first-time buyers, among other steps. Meanwhile, home values are still ascendant, inventories are tight and demographic demand is strong.

Yet on the other hand, uncertainty abounds as the nation navigates uncharted waters both politically and economically. The latest worry: Mortgage rates, though still very low, are beginning to creep upward.

“The traditional spring selling season was a bust during the initial months of the outbreak in 2020, though the market recovered nicely later in the year. Sellers should still have a lot of leverage this spring, but they can’t afford complacency,” says Eric Tyson, a consumer advocate and co-author of “House Selling for Dummies.”

Most housing analysts are optimistic for 2021 sellers.

“While we can expect to see lingering effects of COVID-19 resurgences and subsequent shutdowns in the early months of 2021, vaccine distributions and stimulus actions should revitalize economic activity and keep home purchase demand and home price growth strong,” says Frank Martell, the CEO of CoreLogic (corelogic.com), which tracks housing markets across America.

Still, Karen Rittenhouse, a real estate investor who’s bought and sold hundreds of properties, cautions sellers against overconfidence. In particular, she urges them to select a listing agent thoughtfully.

“Who you pick as an agent is a really big deal because you’ve got a lot of money riding on your sale. You need to ask for referrals, check references and interview every agent you’re considering,” says Rittenhouse, author of “The Essential Handbook for Selling a Home.”

Many successful agents hire assistants for much of their routine work, and Rittenhouse doesn’t necessarily disapprove of this practice. But she says it’s important that your primary agent handle such core functions as negotiating on your behalf when offers come in.

“There’s nothing wrong with assistants handling a lot of the day-to-day work, like arranging showings or holding open houses. But good agents perform the key functions themselves,” she says.

Tyson says it isn’t always easy to determine in advance whether an agent will give your listing the attention it deserves.

“The last thing you want is an agent who disappears the day after landing your listing. So before you sign a listing agreement, you’ve got to investigate,” he says.

Here are a few pointers for sellers:

-- Examine a potential listing agent’s selling record.

Maybe the agent you’re thinking of hiring is known for being a prodigious seller. Even so, this could be the wrong one for you.

“Just because the agent is a ‘big producer’ in sales volume doesn’t mean they have expertise selling in your specific area or your type of house,” Tyson says.

He recommends that sellers obtain an “activity list” from any agent they’re considering. This should itemize all sales closed in the previous 12 months and show the property locations, as well as list and sale prices.

“You can’t beat this raw data when you’re sizing up an agent,” says Tyson.

Agents don’t just specialize in particular areas -- they also specialize in certain price categories.

“You wouldn’t want an agent who’s earning most of their commissions from suburban houses worth over $1 million to list a condo worth much less than that. In that case, your condo might fail to get the attention it deserves,” Tyson says.

-- Consider the implications of hiring “partner agents.”

Some agents, including married couples, like to work as a professional team. They bill themselves as two interchangeable parts of a qualified whole.

“In theory, such a partnership has big advantages for clients because you get a doubling up of talent, with two people devoting themselves to your sale,” Tyson says.

But in practice, the two-agent arrangement is only advantageous to sellers if both partners are fully committed to their work.

“Sometimes the two halves don’t equal a whole, and the clients are shortchanged,” Tyson says.

-- Make sure the agent you select is responsive.

Starting the day your property goes up for sale, you need to get a regular stream of feedback from your listing agent.

For example, if your agent stages an open house for real estate professionals in the area -- known as a “broker’s open” -- you’ll want to receive their comments about the price and condition of your home. Also, you’ll want timely feedback from potential buyers who come through your place for showings.

Why is timely feedback essential to a successful sale? Because it allows you to correct course quickly. For instance, immediate feedback that your home is overpriced would let you adjust your price before your home is stigmatized.

Your listing agent should be the one giving you feedback on a regular basis. To ensure this happens, you need an agent who is meticulous about collecting comments and passing them on.

You can increase your chances of finding a conscientious communicator by asking the references your agent gives you whether they got regular feedback. Plus, you can insist that your listing agreement specifies how often, and whether by phone, email or text, your agent will contact you.

“When it comes to selling your home, good communication with your listing agent isn’t a luxury, it’s crucial,” Tyson says.

(To contact Ellen James Martin, email her at ellenjamesmartin@gmail.com.)