The coronavirus outbreak remains a rapidly moving target. To keep tabs on this fast-changing environment and how real estate is holding up during these times, HomeLight is issuing a biweekly Flash Poll (sent out every other Wednesday morning) to top real estate agents across the country to see how their business is faring and to track reports from their local housing markets. We’ll release the poll results the following Thursday morning after agents are surveyed, so check back for updates.

Week of April 15, 2020

A little over halfway into the month of April, the housing market seems to have settled into somewhat of a “new normal” — sluggish but still pressing on — with no drastic changes since our latest poll conducted April 1 except that the demand for virtual showings spiked again.

Nearly half of agents across the nation still say it’s a seller’s market. Agents estimate on average that 37% of sellers and 43% of buyers have hit pause (a new question we asked agents this round), but three-quarters say prices are holding steady. Time will tell how severe job losses across the country over a short time span will add additional pressure to home sales moving forward.

Here’s a summary of our latest data:

Agents remain open for business weeks into the coronavirus crisis.

• 99% of agents surveyed are still accepting new clients.

Since the beginning of April, there hasn’t been much change in how agents’ businesses are faring.The majority of agents still have work to do and clients coming are to them for help, just at a slower pace than is typical:

• 67% of agents describe business as slower than normal but still doing deals
• 13% say their business has come screeching to a halt
• 12% describe their business as steady or about the same as before the pandemic
• 8% say their business is actually growing despite current circumstances
• Only 0.5% say their business is on hold for now / they’ve deliberately stepped out of the market

Reports of a “seller’s market” held steady this week but are still down from March and February.

• April 15: 48% said it was a seller’s market
• April 1: 49%
• March: 64%
• February: 77%

The overall drop in seller activity appears to be slowing. 

• April 15: 78% said they’ve seen seller activity decline
• April 1: 76%
• March: 41%

The percent of agents who’ve said they’ve seen sellers take their homes off the market increased but only slightly.

• April 15: 63% said they’ve seen sellers take their home off the market
• April 1: 66%
• March: 22%

The overall drop in buyer activity also appears to be leveling off. 

• April 15: 74%
• April 1: 78%
• March: 45%

The percent of agents who’ve said they’ve seen buyers pause their home search also held steady.

• April 15: 84%
• April 1: 87%
• March: 52%

While the vast majority of agents have seen some drop in real estate activity on both the buy and sell sides, over half of buyers and sellers appear to be carrying on. Meanwhile, buyers appear to be dropping out at a slightly higher rate than sellers, but not by much. On average across markets, agents estimate that:

• 37% of sellers in their market have dropped out
• 43% of buyers in their market have dropped out

As people look for ways to buy and sell safely while still practicing social distancing, the demand for virtual showings spiked again.

• April 15: 73% of agents have seen an increase in the demand for virtual showings
• April 1: 54%
• March: 20%

Over half of agents believe we’re already in a recession or will hit a recession before the end of 2020.

• April 15: 30% say we’re already in a recession; 23% say we’ll hit a recession before the end of 2020
• March: 40% said we’ll hit a recession before the end of 2020
• November 2019: 12% said we’ll hit a recession before the end of 2020

But agent optimism has actually bounced back a bit since March.

• April 15: 64% are extremely or somewhat optimistic about the 2020 housing market
• March: 56% were extremely or somewhat optimistic about the 2020 housing market
• November: 76% were extremely or somewhat optimistic about the 2020 housing market

As far as how agents are adapting to the coronavirus… The biggest change we saw over the past two weeks was an increase in those doubling down on virtual tours:

• 84% have shut down open houses.
• 68% are leaning into e-signature and digital closing tools.
• 66% are doubling down on virtual tours (up from 55% April 1).
• 59% are replacing in-person client meetings with virtual ones.
• 56% are working with inspectors to implement new safety protocols around property inspections.
• 46% are restricting or eliminating physical showings.
• 31% are adapting to alternative appraisal methods for their clients.

Week of April 1, 2020

Buyers were the first to change their behavior in the wake of the coronavirus, but sellers are following suit. This could create a situation where only the most motivated buyers and sellers transact right now, the total number of sales chills significantly, but the scales remain fairly balanced.