real estate and covid 19 – The Real Estate Beat

Sight-Unseen Offers Are Growing

Real estate sales are continuing on within a global pandemic as the use of virtual tools is giving buyers a feel for homes—so much so that some are willing to put an offer on a home without even physically stepping inside.

A quarter of REALTORS® surveyed reported that their clients put contracts on homes this week without physically seeing the property. The survey was released Thursday by the National Association of REALTORS®.

As stay-at home orders keep more Americans physically distant, real estate pros are rushing to adapt their businesses and find ways to still show properties for those wanting to continue on with a home purchase. Virtual tours online are growing more common, whether through video or 3D models, and agents are conducting private video showings via platforms like Zoom, FaceTime, Skype, or others.

Real estate sales are continuing during the global pandemic as the use of virtual tools is giving buyers a feel for homes—so much so that they’re willing to put an offer without physically stepping inside.

A quarter of REALTORS® surveyed by the National Association of REALTORS® April 12–13 reported that their clients put contracts on homes this week without seeing the property in person.

As stay-at-home orders keep more Americans physically distant, real estate pros are rushing to adapt their businesses and find ways to show properties. Virtual tours online are growing more common, whether through video or 3D models, and agents are conducting private video showings via platforms like Zoom, FaceTime, Skype, and others.

These virtual options are leading to offers. The brokerage Redfin reported that for the week ending April 12, one in eight Redfin offers were written by customers who viewed the home via video chat. Some of these customers also viewed the home in person after viewing the home on video chat first. Mara Gemond, a real estate professional with Redfin in Virginia, said she’s had three buyers who’ve written offers based on a video tour.

Of those home buyers who put in an offer last week, they had viewed three homes prior, either virtually or in person, according to NAR’s latest Economic Pulse Flash Survey released Thursday. That indicates the buyers who are currently looking for a home are being very decisive and acting quickly. A previous 2019 survey from NAR shows that buyers typically look at nine homes prior to placing a contract on a home.

While some offers are continuing on—albeit in different ways—the real estate industry warns a slowdown is inevitable while the economy is shut down.

“Expect second-quarter home sales activity to slow down with the broad observance of stay-at-home orders, but sales will pick up when the economy reopens as many potential home buyers and sellers indicate they’re still in the market or will be in a couple of months,” says NAR’s Chief Economist Lawrence Yun. “Home prices remain stable as deals continue to happen with the growing use of new technology tools. Remarkably, 10% of REALTORS® report the same level or even more business activity now than before the economic lockdown.”

One-third of REALTORS®–or 33%—reported no closing delays from the COVID-19 outbreak. For those who did report delays, the top reasons cited were delays due to financing, appraisals, and home inspections.

Within the multifamily sector, property managers are reporting a surge in tenants who are facing rent payment issues. Forty-one percent of property managers reported being able to accommodate tenants who cannot pay rent, and about a quarter of individual landlords—or 24%—reported the same, the NAR survey showed.

I read this article HERE

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LOANS ARE CHANGING

Hello Caton Team Friends!

A quick Real Estate Update. If you’re in the market to purchase before or after the Covid-19 Shelter in Place – it would be wise to connect with your lender today. Loans and guidelines are ever chaning in the wake of this pandemic and if you want to be prepared – you’ve got to understand your loan and if it will be available come May 1st.

I always find it best to work directly with a lender you know and trust. Reach out to The Caton Team any time Call | Text | Sabrina 650.799.4333 | Susan 650.796.065 | Email Info@TheCatonTeam.com and for more broad information you can read this article from CNBC.

Got Real Estate Questions? The Caton Team is here to help.

Call | Text | Sabrina 650.799.4333 | Susan 650.796.0654

Email | Info@TheCatonTeam.com

The Caton Team – Susan & Sabrina
A Family of Realtors
Effective. Efficient. Responsive.
What can we do for you?

Want Real Estate Info on the Go? Download our FREE Real Estate App: Mobile Real Estate by The Caton Team

Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices – Drysdale Properties

DRE # |Sabrina 01413526 | Susan 01238225 | Team 70000218 |Office 01499008

The Caton Team does not receive compensation for any posts. Information is deemed reliable but not guaranteed. Third party information not verified.

How Record Unemployment Claims Will Affect the Housing Market

As businesses across the United States have been mandated to close their doors in a desperate effort to slow the spread of COVID-19, people have been losing their jobs left and right. Now, we’re seeing the first unemployment report since the first “shelter in place” orders, and it’s far more grim than anyone had expected.

A record 3.28 million Americans filed for unemployment support in the week ending March 21—the most claims ever filed in a single week.

“Normally, when an economy goes into a recession it develops slowly over time,” says realtor.com® Chief Economist Danielle Hale. “That’s not happening this time around. … It’s pretty clear that the economy is grinding to a halt pretty suddenly.”

It will also be a tough blow to the already wobbly housing market, since those who lost their jobs are not likely to be buying a home anytime soon. Even the millions of Americans who haven’t been laid off or lost work yet are likely to hold off on a major purchase, fearing for the stability of their employment. And while ultrawealthy buyers may be insulated from the downturn, they may still balk at plunking down millions of dollars on a property they can’t even walk through. In response to this lack of demand, many sellers will likely pull their properties off the market until the crisis passes.

However, folks shouldn’t expect home prices to plunge by the double digits as they did during and after the Great Recession. In the last downturn, there were many more properties for sale, due to an overabundance of construction and mass foreclosures, than there were qualified buyers.

This time around, there is a severe shortage of housing for sale. Builders haven’t been putting up enough homes to meet demand for years. And there isn’t likely to be a huge wave of foreclosures because borrowers are in better financial shape. Plus, the federal and many state governments, along with some banks, are rolling out forbearance and other programs to help Americans who’ve lost their jobs stay in their homes. This is all likely to stabilize prices.

“Price growth will slow, and it’s possible that prices could decline” in certain markets, says Hale. “Folks expecting price declines to happen like they did during the last recession are going to be disappointed.”

The hardest-hit areas will likely be those with the highest percentage of jobs in tourism, leisure, and hospitality, the industries most affected by the novel coronavirus. But even in these areas, Hale doesn’t expect prices to go down more than 5%.

However, sales will slow down as there are simply fewer buyers and sellers in the market. Plus, it’s harder to transact remotely.

“We will see a shocking drop-off in home sales in a very short period of time,” says Hale.

They’re likely to rebound when the virus is under control, but there will almost definitely be fewer sales this year than anticipated before the pandemic.

“We don’t know when things will get back to normal,” she continues. “But when they do … we might also see a really strong bounce back.”

But Americans should expect things to get worse before they get better. Jobless claims will likely remain high until the crisis abates—and that timeline is still unclear. But the federal stimulus package expected to pass, which includes $1,200 checks to most Americans, could help to steady the markets.

“All the incoming data will also be off the chart for a few months,” Lawrence Yun, chief economist of the National Association of Realtors®, said in a statement. “The key is whether the stimulus package can reverse all these damages by the second half of the year.”

By Clare Trapasso | Mar 26, 2020

I read this article HERE

Got Real Estate Questions? The Caton Team is here to help.

Call | Text | Sabrina 650.799.4333 | Susan 650.796.0654

Email | Info@TheCatonTeam.com

The Caton Team – Susan & Sabrina
A Family of Realtors
Effective. Efficient. Responsive.
What can we do for you?

Want Real Estate Info on the Go? Download our FREE Real Estate App: Mobile Real Estate by The Caton Team

Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices – Drysdale Properties

DRE # |Sabrina 01413526 | Susan 01238225 | Team 70000218 |Office 01499008

The Caton Team does not receive compensation for any posts. Information is deemed reliable but not guaranteed. Third party information not verified.

Sight-Unseen Offers Are Growing

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