How is the Coronavirus affecting our local housing market?

Everyone has been asking how or if the coronavirus will impact the real estate market. There are three key ways we may see an impact:

1. Interest rates have dropped. Just let this sink in: For a 15-year fixed-rate mortgage on an investment property, I was quoted at 3.5%! I’ve never seen rates that low.

2. Inventory low across the board. Ours has only been a seller’s market in most cases because inventory is so low. If there is a pause in buyers purchasing homes, we may see inventory levels begin to catch up. It doesn’t take much to scare buyers.

People are now more hesitant than ever, and that means sellers shouldn’t get complacent— the hyper seller’s market we’ve been in might not be here in a few months. If homes sit on the market a little longer, this could swing us back to a balanced market.

3. Home values. We haven’t had a decline in real estate values in nine to 10 years—we are in the longest local real estate recovery in history, so could coronavirus be the game-changer?

In the end, there are so many different things that can affect local real estate like elections, interest rates, inventory, consumer confidence, etc. We also live in a very global-centered area, which means that we have money coming in from many different countries and that we’re more globally affected when it comes to real estate.

If you have any questions about the market or how it’s likely to be affected by coronavirus or other factors, don’t hesitate to reach out to me. I’d be happy to speak with you.