Creation, and Covid

 The thought of writing a real estate blog has lingered with me for sometime. If you know me, you know that I love to create. Writing is one of those creations I love and if I could marry that with real estate, which I also love, PERFECT! I decided to name this blog Market Pulse because there really is a pulse to real estate. It can race, it can rest, it can dive, and It can stop. ( let's not hope for that last one ) If you are interested in the market, locally and nationally. I hope that you would look to this as a resource and find it valuable. Disclaimer, I am new at this. So, maybe you can muster a little grace to start. 

The creation of this blog comes out of working from home thanks to the Corona Virus, or Covid-19. I wanted to still provide to my clients, friends and family a service. I am still doing my normal real estate tasks, and working on the current deals that I have, as well as helping new buyers and sellers. That is a serious blessing of this career, I can do it almost anywhere. 

Lets get down to business then. Today I spent time on both Oregon Association of Realtors website, oregonrealtors.org, as well as the National Association of Realtors website, realtors.org., reading about measures these two associations have been taking during this unprecedented time. Researching articles on how we as realtors can protect our clients, how these real estate organizations are working with legislatures to help home owners, landlords, tenants and housing. I also looked into what realtors across the nation are feeling as far as what is going on in the market nationwide. NAR conducted a flash survey of 72,734 members that respresent both residential and commercial real estate around the country as to how the virus has effected their markets. I have attached the findings in a pdf below, but I will hit  some of the highlights of the residential survey here.

Mortgage Rate Change
The majority of sellers have decided not to make a change in their home listing. However, from March 9 to March 16 there was an increase in members who cited that sellers removed the home from the market and refinanced. 

Buyer Interest
On March 9, 78 percent of members cited there was no change in buyer interest due to the coronavirus (COVID-19). However, on March 16, this declined to 45 percent. In areas where there are presumed or confirmed cases of COVID-19, this share is 41 percent. Among all residential members, 48 percent of members cited there was a decrease in buyers.

Seller Behavior
The majority of members reported there has been no change in the number of homes on the market due to the coronavirus (COVID-19). However, in the latest iteration of the survey, 28 percent of members did report that there has been a decline in homes on the market. In areas where there are confirmed or presumed COVID-19 cases, 32 percent saw a decline in homes on the market.

The majority of members reported there was no change in sellers removing homes from the market due to the coronavirus (COVID-19). However, removing homes from the market has increased from three percent on March 9 to 16 percent on the March 16 survey. In areas where there were cases of COVID-19, 20 percent of members reported homes were removed from the market.

​The majority of sellers are changing how their home is viewed while the home remains on the home selling market. About 60 percent of home sellers nationwide have made changes including stopping open houses, requiring buyer hand washing or hand sanitizer to be used, or asking buyers to remove shoes or wear footies. In areas where COVID-19 was present, 65 percent of sellers have adopted these or other changes.

*information credit: NAR Flash Survey: Economic Pulse March 16-17, 2020,shorturl.at/fhpMX​

Baker County
​What have I been seeing in Baker County? Well I have not conducted a survey of the other realtors in the county. I can only speak for myself. I have had one buyer withdraw out of concern of the economy. I am still seeing interest in selling. And there are still people moving to the area that are looking to buy. I have considered doing some video walk-throughs of my current listings so that buyers can virtually walk through a property to keep both them and my sellers safe. It is a time of uncertainty but with some creative solutions buying and selling are still happening, and people still need housing. I am cautiously hopeful, and I encourage you to reach out if you have questions or concerns about your current real estate needs. As an agent, I am not just here when you are ready to buy or ready to sell. I am a resource, a valuable asset to home owners and potential home owners. I work this industry day in and day out, I should be a local and national expert. Do I know everything, absolutely not! I do, however, have resources! 

Please leave a comment if you found this information helpful. Please leave a comment if you have a topic you would like me to tackle! 

See Survey PDF