The Bradenton-Sarasota, Fla., area has been a red-hot housing market with the median price at or above $300,000 for the past year, providing job opportunities for 7,000 real estate agents.
But with the threat posed by the novel coronavirus and COVID-19, the Realtor Association of Sarasota and Bradenton is taking stock of changing conditions.
The association recently launched a survey, asking agents what they are seeing in the market, said Gina White, the association's communications and marketing director.
While too few surveys have been completed and returned to draw any conclusions, the consensus seems to be that the market is slowing down.
"January, February and early March have been fast-paced in the real estate market with activity up on all accounts. The concern over the coronavirus and its effects on the financial markets is slowing the fast pace to more of a medium pace," David Clapp, 2020 association president, said in an email.
"While there are still buyers showing up to open houses, showings of homes are still taking place, contracts are being written, it is just at a slower pace now. Buyers and sellers with properties under contract are still closing on their sales as scheduled. Consumers are focused, rightfully so, on providing for their families and keeping them safe. They are concerned about making sure they have the food and resources necessary to maintain their households. So for some, their attention toward a real estate purchases has been adjusted temporarily," he said.
Moreover, the National Association of Realtors has issued a comprehensive guide for agents to keep them and clients safe, White said.
The guide includes everything from the importance of social distancing and hand washing to whether its appropriate to ask a client whether they have traveled recently (it is), and whether they may refuse to drive clients to see a listing (they may, so long as they treat all clients the same).
"This is so new and fluid that it's too soon to really tell. Up until the last several days it has been business as usual," Clapp said.
Greg Owens, broker and operating principal of Keller Williams on the Water, said he has had a couple of clients cancel their contracts, or walk away from an escrow payment because of the pandemic, but that doesn't seem to be a widespread trend.
Some agents are being encouraged to work more from home, driving separately to showings of homes, and canceling open houses.
The Realtor association has canceled meetings, classes, and events, in the interest of health and safety.
At Owens' office, more meetings are being held remotely and meeting size is being limited to 10 or fewer people. In addition, Owens has been scheduling experts to talk about how agents can survive a market shift.
"A lot of people haven't been through this before. I have," Owens said, referring to the Great Recession of 2008.
