Bob Kutschbach, owner and broker of Carleton Realty, explains how the Covid-19 virus will impact the real estate market.
Historically, when facing a health and safety issue, the public tends to lose focus on real estate. It is predictable that the real estate market will take a downturn in these times. We expect to see this in the near future.
We are getting questions from sellers about health issues when selling their homes. Some sellers no longer want buyers touring their homes because if a buyer were to be contagious it could affect the seller’s family. Sellers may also no longer want open houses. Understandably, They do not want large groups of people touring their homes. We can expect some sellers to take their homes off the market.
Buyers will be shifting their focus from a home search. With schools closing and employers taking measures to protect employees by working remotely, buyers will be focusing on their families not looking at houses. Buyers will also have the same health concerns as sellers. If a seller’s family member is contagious, a buyer puts their family at risk for the virus.
There are still people looking for homes, however. We are adding new jobs in our market and that means people still moving into our area. We still have a very low inventory of homes so buyers that do want to buy may have a much harder time finding a home.
There are precautions that we can take. Our agents are making sure to sanitize regularly. We will be providing booties and hand sanitizer for showings.
We are also employing some techniques to minimize exposure. More buyers will be looking at virtual tours and video walk-throughs of homes. Curb offers will also be much more prevalent. A curb offer is when the buyer and seller will come to an agreement on all terms of a contract before the buyer ever sees the home. If the home is not suitable, the buyer then has the opportunity to void the contract. This will cut down on the number of showings that a house will have.
The length of the downturn will depend on how long the virus lasts. We will still have a market but much smaller than what we have seen in recent years.
Hang in there! Take care of yourself and take the necessary precautions to keep you and your family healthy and safe.
If you have any questions, please reach out to us! We are here to help!
