Confidence high among agents, brokers as local market remains strong.
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The local housing market is holding firm despite the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Covid-19 pandemic continues to stoke fear on a global level, but the local housing market is holding firm, according to local real estate industry professionals, who say they’re busy as ever thanks to an exodus from urban areas hit hard by the crisis and a steady stream of existing Lake City residents eager to upgrade from their starter homes.
The past two weeks have seen a drastic increase in the number of confirmed cases in the United States, spurring local and state officials throughout the nation to order shutdowns or other extreme measures that have left a significant portion of the economy to languish. Yet Rob Stewart of Lake City Title says the housing market in Lake City and Columbia County is still bustling.
“I haven’t talked to any Realtors yet who are sold on this thing being a recession,” Stewart said. “There’s still a lot of people wanting to buy houses.”
Other markets may see a slowdown on home sales, but Lake City and Columbia County may see a different trend, Stewart believes.
“I think it’s going to continue to be strong — you’re already seeing people wanting to get out of the big cities,” he said. “They’re going to be looking for more rural places.”
Interest rates are at historic lows, for one thing.
“And a lot of people are realizing they’re as low as they’re going to get,” he said.
That has likely motivated potential buyers who were sitting on the fence about purchasing their first home or upgrading to a bigger one as their family grows, Stewart said.
The Lake City area already has high demand combined with low inventory, according to a number of real estate professionals asked to comment on the current state of the market.
“Compared to other places in the country, we have a lot more reason for growth,” Stewart said. “We’re under-built, not as much new construction.”
Home sales have lagged ever so slightly since the pandemic started taking hold, but the drop is negligible, said Dan Gherna, executive vice president of the Lake City Board of Realtors.
“For the most part, it hasn’t really impacted us that much,” Gherna said. “Real estate is alive and well compared to other areas of the country.”
From March 9 through Friday, there were 42 homes sold and five pending sales in Columbia County, Gherna said.
The same period in 2019 saw 69 total sales.
For a month-to-month comparison, there were 43 sales completed and 22 pending from Feb. 9 to Feb. 27.
The pandemic could make more people gun-shy about going to viewings for homes that are already occupied, and higher-end houses may take a hit, Gherna said. But the pillar of the local market — homes in the $100,000 to $200,000 price range — will continue selling.
“First-time home buyers are probably not going to be affected,” Gherna said. “And in fact, I would say, if you were sitting on the fence thinking about selling your home — your house is never going to be worth more than it is today, if this hangs on.”
There’s no telling how the market would react to a prolonged pandemic — that was the consensus reached by multiple industry professionals who shared their perspective on the subject — but Gherna said he retains a positive outlook.
“If this whole thing holds on for a while and people don’t buy, there’s going to be a ton of pent-up demand when this is finally over,” Gherna said.
Realtor Stan Batten closed two sales Friday morning, saying all signs point to demand still being high.
“If a home is priced correctly right now, it won’t be on the market very long,” he said. “That, I can assure you.”
Broker Daniel Crapps is seeing the same trend, adding that he got an offer on a home Friday morning and has plans to construct four houses as a separate business venture.
“We’re still believing in the market,” Crapps said.
Buyers and sellers don’t appear to be dissuaded by the pandemic, he added.
“I think most people see this thing as a short-term deal,” Crapps said. “It’s not like the great depression we had in ‘07 and ‘08. Once they get this virus under control, the market is going to bounce right back.”
Home prices have not dropped, said Missy Zecher, a real estate agent with RE/MAX Professionals.
“There’s still a lot of confidence in the market, so people are taking advantage,” Zecher said. “Housing is such a basic need.”
The pandemic has changed one thing, Zecher said. She’s been using apps like Skype and FaceTime to give remote tours to buyers who either live out of town or don’t feel comfortable with an in-person viewing.
“The trend is how we do business,” she said, emphasizing the “how.”
“We may be doing more video showings, virtual tours,” she added.
Sandy Kishton, also with RE/MAX, foresees Lake City becoming a regional stronghold for the housing market. She put up three listings Saturday before accepting an offer Monday.
“Right now, we haven’t seen any real big changes,” Kishton said.
The current seller-oriented market may shift a little more in favor of buyers over the coming months, but Lake City’s rural setting insulates it from the more drastic effects that may be seen elsewhere, she said.
“I think it’s kind of business as usual,” Kishton said.
Realtor Teresa Spradley said she had one deal fall apart because the buyer lost her job due to the pandemic’s economic impact.
“But for the most part, business is pretty strong,” she said.
The “slim pickings” in terms of housing supply makes homes that are on the market more attractive, Spradley said.
“I’m getting multiple offers on properties that are priced right,” she said.