It’s a great question and one I’m being asked a lot these days. Homes are selling and as of today we don’t expect damage to the real estate market as it has been very strong. We know this health crisis will pass and look forward to a life which is normal again. In the meantime, we are hearing from some people that have underlying health issues, are elderly or just concerned as to what to do. We are concerned to protect you too. Interest rates are historically low so buyers want to take advantage of them so it is a decision each individual or family needs to make.
To that end, I am immediately suspending open houses and encouraging buyers to preview homes and narrow their choices online. If a home is in the narrowed down list I am taking precautions to protect my sellers by having buyers remove their shoes at the front entry, asking buyers to not bring children to showings when ever possible, and if they must bring them carry them or have them by the hand so they are not exploring on their own. Also, for my listings I have a limited supply of gloves and asking one party from the group to use one glove to open doors and cupboards so we don’t deplete our supply, and use hand sanitizer. After the party leaves I encourage the sellers to use a Norwex cloth or a bleach spray to wipe down the front door knob and any other areas of concern. Lights are already on when the parties arrive and lights remain on for the seller to turn off keeping touching at a minimum. If the home is vacant I will be making trips over to keep the home as clean as possible. Inspectors, appraisers and moving companies I have spoken to are all onboard to protect your family as well.
Our Real Estate Board is tracking some simple stats on a go-forward basis to follow the pattern of activity this year compared to last year.
In order to compare apples to apples, they are using the same week of the month when making comparisons.
Also keep in mind that all pending and closed transactions may not yet have been reported for 2020 since they are not always reported on the same day the transaction went pending or closed, whereas, the closed transactions for 2019 will include all sales for that date.
They will be recalculating the numbers below and republish them. Thus far, we appear to be outpacing 2019 activity for the reported week, both in terms of listings and sales.
GRAR MLS Activity – 3rd week of March, Current Year, 2020
| Date | New Listings | Pending Transactions | Closed Transactions | Price Changes |
| Friday, 3-20-20 | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD |
| Thursday, 3-19-20 | 88 | 53 | 49 | 10 |
| Wednesday, 3-18-20 | 77 | 55 | 40 | 29 |
| Tuesday, 3-17-20 | 59 | 51 | 49 | 21 |
| Monday, 3-16-20 | 52 | 60 | 42 | 24 |
| Sunday, 3-15-20 | 17 | 29 | 4 | 7 |
| Saturday, 3-14-20 | 12 | 23 | 7 | 3 |
| Total for Wk 3-14-20 to 3-20-20 | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD |
GRAR MLS Activity – 3rd week of March, One Year Ago, 2019
| Date | New Listings | Pending Transactions | Closed Transactions | Price Changes |
| Friday, 3-22-19 | 49 | 36 | 44 | 16 |
| Thursday, 3-21-19 | 109 | 36 | 39 | 23 |
| Wednesday, 3-20-19 | 31 | 44 | 29 | 24 |
| Tuesday, 3-19-19 | 49 | 56 | 36 | 23 |
| Monday, 3-18-19 | 54 | 68 | 53 | 23 |
| Sunday, 3-17-19 | 9 | 22 | 1 | 4 |
| Saturday, 3-16-19 | 15 | 27 | 11 | 6 |
| Total for Wk 3-16-19 to 3-22-19 | 316 | 289 | 213 | 119 |
