According to the Miami Herald robust listings and sales of single-family homes and condos are still happening in south Florida but the future remains cloudy. “This period is reminiscent of the post- 9/11 era and the run-up to the 2008 recession,” said Jonathan Miller, president and CEO of the New York-based Miller Samuel Inc. “But those moments had a clear line of demarcation before and after. This is different. We’re at peak uncertainty, which makes this different. This phenomenon is going to be spread out over time — we don’t know how long — and we don’t know who has the virus and who doesn’t.”
Some signs of the impact are already visible. A flash survey conducted March 16-17 by the National Association of Realtors of a sample of its 72,734 members showed a big jump in decreased interest from buyers over the same period on March 9, from 13 percent to 37 percent. Decreased interest from buyers in areas with confirmed or presumed COVID-19 cases increased even more, to 41 percent.
The same survey found that the percentage of sellers who removed their homes from the market also increased, from three percent on March 9 to 16% overall and 23% in areas affected by COVID-19.
According to the real estate marketplace Point2 Homes, interest in home-buying in the U.S. plummeted 35 percent during the week of March 9-16, despite low interest rates and anticipated strong demand. During that same week, Google Trends data shows interest in apartment rentals dipped 25 percent.