I was planning to write today for a different reason than I’m writing now. I was planning to write and talk about the spring real estate market because most people who are thinking about a move start talking about buying and selling in early spring. But our world has changed as we all focus on new priorities which include staying safe and healthy. I hope you and your family are doing well in light of all that’s going on.
Virtually overnight this virus has changed the way we live, and many people wonder how this will affect the real estate market. I want to assure you that the real estate market will weather this storm and there will be many more sunny days ahead for real estate. The economy was strong before the virus and will recover once the crisis has passed.
The fundamentals of our real estate market are strong. Immediately prior to the virus outbreak our housing inventory was extremely tight and buyers had to compete when making offers to buy. Our economy was thriving, unemployment was low and demand for housing was extremely high. Home prices had risen to record high levels and sellers were experiencing high appreciation rates on their homes.
Over the years I have seen many events that affected our real estate market, including the Great Recession of 2008/2009, the dot.combubble bursting in the late 90’s, and the horrific terrorist attack on our country on 9-11. A common thread among these events is that we weathered their effects and real estate came back even stronger than before. I expect the same thing to happen again.
So please remember that real estate is an industry driven by supply and demand. Our area has too little inventory to satisfy our demand, and this fact caused real estate prices to rise so substantially over the past few years. Real estate still is and will continue to be a strong, stable investment. It is still an incredible time to both buy and sell real estate because buyers benefit from low interest rates while sellers benefit from the low inventory and the high buyer interest. And while the market may be “on hold” while we all exercise caution and stay at home, know that this is a temporary situation.
I also wanted you to know that I am adapting in order to continue helping you and the people you care about. For the next little while there will be fewer people searching for their dream home, but here will still people who need to sell a home and even more who want to take advantage of compelling interest rate offers. I will be incorporating tools like video and web conferencing to have meetings and to show and market homes for the people whose moves must go on. Continue to feel comfortable having me as your resource to lead, guide, and protect you and your home during all times and especially in times like these.
All the best,
Mike