Market Message from Darden
I’m sure it comes as no surprise to anyone that the real estate market has been greatly affected by the COVID-19 crisis. Even though the State of NJ has declared real estate an essential business and still allows us to show properties, the number of actual showings is down dramatically. In fact, our showing system shows that they are down almost 70% throughout the state.
Spring is typically our busiest time of the year with new listings coming on the market, buyers viewing and offering on listings, and listings going into contract. The COVID effect has essentially paused the market. We are seeing significantly less new listings come onto the market. At the same time, we are seeing a low number of listings go under contract.
For example: In downtown Jersey City, the number of newly listed condos to come on the market from April 1 through today (April 17) is 21. Last year during the same time period there were 72 new listings. This represents a 70% decline in the number of new listings.
The number of condos to move into contract from April 1, 2020 through April 17, 2020 were 2. This number for the same period last year was 34. A decline of 94%!
The primary reason the market has slowed down is obvious – safety. It’s a dangerous time to leave your home, physically. With the volatility in the equity markets, there are some buyers who want to wait and see before making any decision related to real estate. However, there still are some serious buyers out there who need/want to move and are seeing the historically low interest rates and less market competition as an opportunity.
We are using technology to keep our sellers’ listings moving as much as possible, with safety as priority. First step for potential buyers is to head to our website (https://www.themoorefieldgroup.com/our-listings) to do a 3D virtual walkthrough of the property they are interested in. For everyone’s sake and sanity, we are only connecting buyers and sellers who have a serious interest in making a transaction. All transactions between buyers, sellers and agents are done on Face Time, Zoom calls and other similar platforms as much as possible.
Again, safety is the utmost priority. When it comes time for someone to view or enter a property – be it a client or inspector – we follow strict social distancing rules. People enter properties one at a time, and we supply booties, gloves and hand sanitizers. Inspectors can show their findings on FaceTime or Zoom.
Online traffic on real estate sites is more active than ever. That’s not surprising as Spring is the most active season in the real estate market and everyone is at home and online. The demand is still there, and we believe the market season is delayed but will return.
We are still here to help you with any market questions or concerns, related to your own property, real estate goals, or anything else you may need.
Thanks, from all of us at The Moorefield Group, and please stay healthy!
Darden Moorefield