Will sellers be extra motivated to sell when covid subsides

Question

Looking to invest in PA. As properties become available to tour will sellers be more likely to negotiate on price after having to wait so long to sell their property?

Jay Hinrichs · Answer

I agree there are always motivated sellers in all market conditions.. this is just too quick and HOPEFULLY to short lived to really have a lasting impact above and beyond normal motivated or distressed sellers.. Will some panic  Maybe  Will others just say heck NO i am not lowering my price ( YUP  I think so )..

Marcus Auerbach · Answer

@Nick Giarratano I can only speak for Wisconsin and here real estate has been considered essential and we have been busy! Buyers have slowed down a bit around easter and have focused more on virtual tours, some dropped out because of job loss or just because they were concerned. But most of them have remained active and now getting more and more restless.

The impact on sellers has been bigger, many don't want to have people come to their home and have delayed until after the shut down. We were low on inventory before, now we have a corona squeeze on top of that. I expect more inventory to come online in a month or so. The last weeks have been extremely competitive, multiple offers on every deal I have been involved in.

We may see some distressed sellers at luxury price points; they do not receive as much stimulus money and some are overleveraged. This could result in some short sales and forclosures, but that takes time and they will not hit before late 2021.

I wish I could buy up some additional rental propertuies at discounts, but I don't see that happening (the discounts). It's a good time to refinance, especially if you have excellent credit and can bundle properties - banks are looking for low risk, larger loans and are willing to negotiate rates on those.

Brian Ploszay · Answer

This pandemic has changed the real estate market, but it is somewhat hard to quantify at this moment.  We're into this for around 5 to 7 weeks now.

So far we have seen a dip in listings and transactions.  All of this is expected.  Not sure if we've seen real price changes in the market.  I've been searching for good deals from the MLS and haven't found much.

On the positive for sellers, some markets are lifting restrictions.  With people going back to work and business, the real estate market will start to function again.

On the negative, consumer demand might not recover fully post-lockdown.  Folks simiply have less money and segments of the economy might not recover for awhile:  Travel, entertainment and larger purchases.

In soft markets, inevitably we should be able to find some better deals.  Don't be shy in looking and making offers.  You will hit.  But probably not the discount levels of the last real estate crash.

Alex Deacon · Answer

@Nick Giarratano I am located in the Pittsburgh market and I do feel we are going to have more deals available to us as investors due to the Corona situation. Only time will tell.  What you also need to be concerned with is although the deals may become abundant on the back end the buyers may dry up a bit. You still need to be careful and walk a thin line. You dont know how the rental market or the resale market is going to react and thats how we as investors make our money. Just because the deals are less expensive and abundant doesn't mean you should buy them.

Mindy Jensen · Answer

In Colorado, you could view a property you had under contract. (They just resumed showings yesterday but with huge restrictions and still no Open Houses.)

Inventory was low before this started, and demand was high. I don't anticipate much drop in pricing in my area. I watch the market closely and during our lockdown, houses were still going under contract in the same timeframe.

Avery Carl · Answer

It depends on how long COVID lasts. In my markets, businesses are already opening back up. So barring any major relapses and subsequent shutdowns, it didn't last long enough to put a big dent in prices. I think they will unilaterally dip a little bit, but nothing significant. So unless this lasts another 6 months, I would not expect any giant price reductions.

Shawn Ackerman · Answer

@Nick Giarratano I truly hope that would be the case.  As we are contacting "motivated sellers" during this crisis, we are learning that sellers are not feeling like they have to fire sell.  Granted this has only be in effect for a couple of months now.  I think that the basic principal of supply and demand will prevail both off and on market.  There is simply not enough supply to go around which is "still" driving prices upward.  I'd imagine if there is a shift after things open up, we may create an ease in discount buying opportunity.  Keep in mind I am speaking from the 1-4 unit C/D market perspective, $30 - $150K price  point  in the Milwaukee WI market.

Nick Giarratano · Answer

@Alex Olson ya that does help. I agree that ppl so have reserves. I was more referring to the fact that in PA no one is allowed to tour houses for going on two months now. I’m also interested in small multi family properties. So my though process was that ppl who have had their property on the market for a few months and we’re already motivated to sell for some other non covid related reason may now be anxious to sell because everything has been on hold now for so long.

Alex Olson · Answer

My prection for the KC market is that it will not impact sales as much as you would expect. As states become more open, more people are back to work. A rental complex typically has several months of reserves. However, there will be a few amazing deals out of this thing but nothing like the great recession. In other words, if you see a great deal now, pounce on it. Hope this helps!

Will sellers be extra motivated to sell when covid subsides

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