What will be the impact of the Coronavirus crisis on real estate?

[Kevin Lefeuvre]

How will the actual crisis impact the real estate market in your opinion?

The fact is that , justified or not, the crisis has already hit many businesses including hospitality & tourism, transportation, financial markets and other businesses will be hit due to the problems in these sectors, regardless of the continuous outspread of the virus. (Please stick with the question and avoid your personal opinion if the fear is justified or not. Thx )

As an investor, will you keep investing this year? How do you think the prices will evolve this year?

A friend of mine was in escrow. He told me he cancelled today because he's convinced he can buy the same property much cheaper 6 months from now. Thoughts?

[Joe Splitrock]

@Kevin Lefeuvre it could permanently alter the way we do business. Hundreds of conferences have been cancelled. Hotel rooms cancelled. Airplane travel cancelled. The impact to cities that rely on tourism and conferences could be substantial. It is not just the businesses, but the people who work at these places. They own houses, rent apartments and rent houses. When they lose their jobs, it will impact real estate in these markets. So the idea that real estate is insulated from business and stock market troubles is not true. 

Positive impact, with the stock market fears and people rushing to bonds, it has pushed 30 year mortgage rates to all time lows. Good time to refinance.

In my opinion there will be a stock market buying opportunity. Of course this isn't popular on a real estate forum. The reality is very often buying when others are selling is the best move. It is called contrarian investment strategy. It works for any asset class that is poised for long term recovery. Just stay away from investments that could end up bankrupt like airlines. 

With coronavirus at community level, there is little hope for containment. Most likely it will be around for years and infect most of the population. As more people get infected and recover, new cases will drop. People will get used to it and the fear will subside.