What our trusted partners have to say:
In the Chicago area real estate market, we are of course seeing some changes in buying behavior with Stay-at-Home orders in place for Illinois. However, we are not seeing the huge drop-off in market activity or prices that many thought would be happening. Rather, we are seeing a strong demand within the housing market in Chicago. My team and I had 3 closings this past week, 2 of which just happened yesterday (Friday, April 3rd) On top of that, we also just got 3 new deals under contract within the past week.
I think it’s important to remember, there has been a lot of pent-up demand within the housing market. Across much of the country, the “spring market” for real estate started even earlier than usual, with strong sales and market activity beginning in early January this year. What we are seeing here on the ground is a continued appetite for real estate from many real estate consumers. With most people being at home, some of our home shoppers are telling us that they actually have more time to look online for homes than they normally would. What do people do when they have extra time on their hands? An old American pastime: Shop for real estate!
We are noticing some changing trends in HOW people are currently shopping. More of our clients are now asking for either a virtual tour (via Zoom or Face-time) or for our team to meet them at the property and simply open the door for them while keeping proper physical distance. My team and I are of course using hand sanitizer and wearing gloves and minimizing contact with others as much as possible. We are finding that, as long as consumers know that we have their best interests in mind and respect their need for safety and social distancing, they do still want to come see houses. And title companies are adapting to the way we handle closings, with many “drive-by” closings now happening, where buyers can literally stay in their car while signing the necessary paperwork.
On top of all this, we are seeing increased interest in real estate investment as some people move toward the perceived safety and sureness of long-term real estate investments vs.the volatility of the stock market. And some investors are expressing the sentiment that this might be the moment in the market that they’ve been waiting for, to jump in on good deals that become available, while other people sit on the sidelines waiting it out.
While there may inevitably be some slow down in the market due to a drop-off in overall economic activity, we thankfully are not yet seeing that here on the ground. Activity in the Chicago area real estate market remains strong. Buyers are still buying, sellers are still selling, and banks and mortgage companies are still lending money. And for now, that’s great news for one of the most important economic engines in our economy.
Stay Strong Illinois!
Information shared from Realtor: Matt Diehl (Compass Real Estate in the Chicago area)