While, rightly so, health concerns remain on the minds of home buyers, sellers, and agents, with safety practices in place, the real estate market in St Louis still has activity. Granted, as you would expect, the activity is at a reduced rate, but there are still people that want, or even need, to buy or sell a home. In fact, the economic downturn as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic has put some additional pressure on sellers who have been negatively affected.
One of the things I’ve been watching to track activity in the market are showings of homes. As the chart below shows, showings are down significantly from the same time last year (currently 42.8%) however, as the table below illustrates, the showing trend has increased over the past 3 days. Showings hit bottom on March 28th when they were down 45.0% from a year ago and since then have regained some ground. One thing to keep in mind is part of the decline is a result of “casual lookers” going by the wayside as the only people looking at homes today are serious home buyers. In addition, alternatives to physical showings are being developed to allow real estate transactions to continue with less physical contact between people. For example, our firm, MORE, REALTORS, is launching a virtual open house online platform as well as a virtual showing online platform that will deliver an enjoyable, and safe, user experience for the buyer and will allow us to continue to safely serve sellers.
Showings of Listings In The St Louis MSA and Surround Area – Comparision to Last Year-Table
Showings of Listings In The St Louis MSA and Surround Area – Comparision to Last Year-Interactive Chart
(click on chart for live, up to date, interactive chart)
