BUFFALO, N.Y. (WBEN) – The real estate market is facing its own challenges and experts remain confident that their industry will stay strong through the coronavirus pandemic.
"It's a very uncertain time," Donna Littlefield, President of the Buffalo Niagara Association of Realtors, said. "We don't have a gamebook on this. Nobody does. We're just trying to follow the rules and regulations as to what we can and can't do while we're keeping our clients and communities safe."
New York State deemed real estate activities as essential on April 1. The New York State Association of Realtors last Thursday said that those working in the industry are not mandated to work and to stay at home if they can.
While Littlefield said the market is running smoothly, she said there are some challenges realtors are facing. Those challenges include having to run virtual tours of homes instead of in-person showings. Littlefield also said they can't meet with a seller before a house goes on the market.
Open houses are also disallowed during the pandemic because it encourages a social gathering.
"We're getting things done," she said. "Inspectors are now able to do inspections. Appraisers are working. Bankers are working. We're getting closings done. We're on a hold and doing the best we can and doing a very good job if I might say so myself."
The main priority for realtors is safety according to Littlefield.
She acknowledged that the pandemic is forcing some potential sellers to delay putting their house on the market. Littlefieldacknowledged that she has close to ten clients that are waiting until the pandemic subsides before they place their house up for sale.
Still, others may take advantage of this housing market. Littlefield said she is still virtually showing some homes. Interest rates are also among the lowest she's seen in her career. Some banks are offering 30-year mortgage rates as low at 3.125 percent.
"Demand is definitely still there for housing in the middle of the market, which in Western New York, is somewhere between say $150,000 and $350,000," Hunt Real Estate CEO Peter Hunt said. "There's still very little inventory. That's not seemingly changing. We're seeing activity on the edges of that going upwards and seeing good activity in the higher end, believe it or not. It's a bit surprising, even to those of us in the business."
Hunt Real Estate is not letting customers walk through their listings anymore. Hunt said buyers will have to adjust to a virtual world during the pandemic and that those who choose to buy after taking virtual tours can benefit during the pandemic because there is less competition when it comes to bidding.
