How buying or selling a home will be effected by a “Global Pandemic”…
Is now a good time to sell my house? I get this question a lot these days. This Novel Corona Virus is no joke right now.
Sellers listing homes during the next few weeks are likely to see a huge spike in buyer activity during this period of uncertainty. This means it’s great time to buy, and an even better time to sell.
Buyer’s aren’t asking me much…they are just slinking around with me, in the shadows, waiting to pounce on the right opportunity!
Today the World Health Organization deemed COVID-19 a “Global Pandemic.” Despite Seattle being the Epicenter of it’s outbreak in the United States, we still have a very hot real estate Market on our hands. At least for now. There’s no way to know just how bad this is going to get. One thing I’m betting on is it’s going to get worse before it gets better. Seattle Public Schools and Lake Washington School District have just enacted a 14 day shutdown over COVID-19 concerns. In my experience most of the school districts in the area just watch what these two behemoths do, and follow suit. I expect Schools to be closed throughout King, Pierce, and Snohomish Counties for the next 2 weeks, to help slow the spread of this virus.
What does this mean for the real estate market? Your guess is as good as mine. What does it mean for the economy? Similar answer, although the cat is pretty much out of the bag on that one.
In my opinion, what we are currently seeing is most likely the beginning of the economic recession we’ve all been expecting to see happen within the next couple years. Let me be clear… an Economic Recession and a Real Estate Market Shift or Adjustment, are not the same. Most of us remember the “crash in ‘08” and some still think that something similar is once again on the horizon. I myself and many experts disagree with the idea that we will see another major price adjustment like that again in our lifetime. See the chart below comparing historical recessions and their effect on home prices.
I expect to hear more and more announcements about government programs, private companies, and philanthropic organizations offering economic assistance throughout our communities in the coming weeks. Some of the announcements we’ve heard in the last week are to likely intensify and grow to reach larger swath of the US population.
With a large percentage of local employees working from home, or telecommuting during this outbreak, and nearly all local students learning in place, I predict every day of the week will be like the weekend. I anticipate that homes will show and sell faster because most folks who are looking at homes, are doing so from home, and have the ability to just sneak out and visit the homes they like much more quickly than during a regular work week at least in the short term. This means the few homes on the market during this period should expect to see even higher traffic from buyers and a potential increase in multiple offer situations.
If this outbreak drags on for a few months, and we start to have economic impacts directly attributed to the disease because businesses are closing down, or employees are functioning on a reduced wage, it could definitely cause complications to the transactions themselves with respect to getting loans, closing and recording sales, not to mention people staying home and being afraid to leave their house. I choose to believe that while we are facing a major health concern, we as Americans will pull together and get past this without too major complications other than the tragic loss of many lives cause by this new virus.
If you are considering buying or selling in the next 90 days and we haven’t spoken recently, feel free to reach out, and we can have a more specific conversation regarding your individual needs.