What the Coronavirus is Doing to Real Estate

This Coronavirus business is really doing a number on several businesses and industries, real estate definitely being one of them. But, the longer we sit in quarantine, the more bleak the outlook becomes. Many economists felt that 20/20 was going to be a great year for the real estate industry with historically low levels of housing inventory… But they didn't think it would be because of the virus.

According to recent information from one of the largest brokerages in the country, the housing supply is rapidly declining in wake of the outbreak. The last week of March took more than 28,000 homes off the market, a 148% jump over this time last year. This means that a total of 4% of all homes on the market were de-listed. The report mentioned that if buyers were hesitant about buying, sellers were even more hesitant. In larger cities such as Chicago, Los Angeles, and Philadelphia, 6% of all active listings were taken off the market but in other places, that number is down to 2% or 3% such as Phoenix and Atlanta.

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One bright light in all of this is that it appears that we are flattening the curve quicker than we expected. There are not nearly the amount of infected people expected, which is great news for everything… The economy, housing market, people's family and friends, and our livelihoods. The shorter this pandemic lasts, the better outcome it will be for all of us.

However, some reports still are claiming a grim outcome. Redfin's data showed a 33% drop in new listings the first week of April and in some areas, that amount doubled such as Detroit and Philadelphia. New sellers are down in most places like Phoenix, Milwaukee, and San Diego.

It's no surprise that we are seeing this impact across the board, not just in housing, but the shorter lived it is, the better outcome will see. Should buyers and sellers put everything on hold? Not necessarily. While in some places interest rates are historically low, in other places, like California, they've actually gone up surprisingly. It really depends on micro-markets and because every place is different, it's hard to get a general average for the entire country.

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I've read a lot of articles and watched a lot of videos that now is a great time to buy because of the interest rates and because there are more serious sellers on the market than ever before, prompting them to be more motivated to sell.

Read More: Need to Buy but Nervous About COVID-19?

Sellers should necessarily pull their homes from the market too soon. There are safe ways to buy and sell during the outbreak and just about every industry is altering the way they do business and getting creative for the safety of their employees and clients.

The issue with the housing market is that it literally changes day by day. What may have sounded tragic yesterday may have a positive spin today. Companies are currently in survival mode and governments are pushing billions of dollars into programs so that people can keep their jobs and the economy can continue. But we are already seeing a bounce back from the stock market, creative plans for businesses to keep their employees and for homeowners to keep their homes.

I've never seen a society come together and try to support each other, lift each other up, and find creative ways to continue business, which is exactly what we should be doing. There are a lot of real estate agents that have continued their marketing, continued to help their community, and because of that, I feel that they will come out on the other side ahead. Everyone's doing their part to either stay in business, provide food and shelter for people, or stimulate the economy as much as we can. Not everyone can do everything, but we all can do a little bit of something and the real estate market will rebound… It always does.

My advice to sellers is to go ahead and list your property. Buyers will start coming out of the woodwork any day now and your house needs to be available.

My advice to buyers is go ahead and get pre-approved, start looking at homes, and do all you can online, which is just about 99% of a real estate transaction anyway. If you need to purchase a home or have been considering selling, move forward with that with confidence and yet being careful every step of the way. We will see a come back, this country always does and were all praying it happens sooner rather than later.

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