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Who would have thought on March 23rd of this year that on December 22nd of this year we would still be in the throws of COVID-19 woes? I sure didn't. I remember talking to Elaine, an agent I was working with at the time, about getting together for lunch after the pandemic in June! That didn't happen.
Elaine was representing the seller and Rich and I were representing the buyer. Our clients' settlement was scheduled for March 23rd and we had to literally do everything we possibly could to push settlement through because there was talk about a shutdown. Thankfully for all involved, settlement did take place on March 23rd (though agents were not allowed to attend) with masks on and social distancing, a catch-phrase that had just started taking on the COVID meaning back then. Then, later that very same day, a shutdown was announced and we were informed that real estate was not considered an essential business. This made no sense to me and many others in real estate. Housing isn't essential?
Back then, little did we know that the COVID-19 pandemic would push home prices up. To this day I am so grateful that our clients were able to get to the settlement table just in time! Truth be told, if that house was on the market today, regardless that it's now winter, it would sell for more than what it sold for in March, all due to the pandemic. Our clients (who have become our friends) are very happy they were able to get to settlement when they did.
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a huge impact on real estate, in housing prices, in the way we conduct business and in the way we interact with our clients. It is still recommended that all real estate business be conducted via Zoom, Facetime, etc. and that we get electronic signatures rather than wet ink signatures. Face to face meetings should only take place when internet and electronic means are not possible. However, we are still allowed to walk through a home before listing it and we're still allowed to show buyers homes with masks and social distancing. However, only home buyers that we are contracted with can attend showings, inspections and go inside the property.
One of the most recent COVID-19 rules for businesses in Pennsylvania (PA), besides no inside dining in restaurants, no entertainment and no open gyms, restricts residents from going out of the state for more than 24 hours unless when they return they have negative COVID-19 test result within 72 hours or they must quarantine for 14 days (this may have changed to 10 days). For buyers who might go visit family and friends or go on vacation, that can cause a problem, as Realtors are bound to adhere to the rules.
As far as the housing market goes, the COVID-19 pandemic has created a seller's market on steroids. Although interest rates remain historically low, there are still simply not enough homes on the market for all the buyers causing many of them to give up searching for a new home at least for now. They have become frustrated and disheartened. For this reason, many sellers have been reluctant to put their homes on the market in fear of not finding a suitable home for themselves. In fact, one of our sales fell through this fall because the seller couldn't find suitable housing in time and so she terminated the contract. Thankfully, our clients were investors so they didn't have their house under contract and were not moving. If they did and were, it would have been a very sticky and difficult situation to untangle; it could have ended up in court. But thankfully our clients were very kind and compassionate and they accepted the seller's termination. When Rich and I spoke to Dominic, our broker, about it, he commented that he's never seen so many seller's terminating contracts. And he's been in the real estate business for over 25 years! For Rich and me, it was first.
This year has had many ups and downs for so many of us. In the very beginning of 2020, around the third week of January, Rich and I received a text from our friend, Tammy out in western PA where we have a house, with photos of a large tree branch laying on top of our porch roof! Shortly after that, we found out that the hot water heater expansion tank had just sprung a leak and was shooting out hot water down the basement. This caused the whole house from top to bottom to be covered in mold. And this happened before the COVID shutdown and pandemic announcement. Since then, we've been through mold remediation and gutting the house and we've made monthly trips out to western PA. The second floor has been completed and now the contractors are working on the first floor. We still have a lot of work to do (inside and out) and once it's finished, it's going to be an Airbnb rental. If you're interested in watching our progress, like and follow us on Facebook, The Dayton House Renovation Project.
COVID-19 has impacted many families and many lives this year. We have wept for those who have lost loved ones and for those we knew. We're concerned for the elderly and for those who haven't had any visitors in nursing homes and the hospitals. I don't believe the answer was to keep families apart nor was it the best thing. The jury is still out about how this whole thing started, and having shutdowns. We and so many others have many questions, and the news media hasn't answered them (what happened to investigative reporting?). They seem to just push the doom and gloom "agenda" as though nothing good has happened this whole year. That's just not true. For instance, just within the last week, a potential client and her sister will be reuniting with their father who one of them has never seen because he left before she was born and the other was just five years old. They are very excited to see him and I'm sure he's just as excited. What a blessing it is to be included in such a huge and joyful event! So, while it's been a difficult, unprecedented year with much pain and sorrow, much good has come out of it, too and we shouldn't overlook that.
Getting back to real estate and where this leaves the real estate market...I believe that the new year will motivate sellers to have a fresh new perspective, to light a spark under their feet and begin preparing their homes for the 2021 Spring market. On a good note, due to employers allowing employees to work from home, people can live wherever they want to. According to this article, we may be seeing a busy real estate market come 2021! We may even see new businesses pop up as entrepreneurs look for opportunities and new ways to share their talents, their expertise and their experience. Sure, life as we know it has changed, but we cannot stop living, right? If we all have a positive outlook and we look at the glass half full, we should see a healthy Spring market that not only stimulates the housing market but also the economy. So how about it? Let's not be afraid of change. Let's stand together and think outside the box to create an ideal and prosperous 2021 in all aspects of life, because the truth is, there is no fear in love (1John 4:18) and with God, all things are possible (Matthew 19:26)!
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