Over the past several days, we’ve been looking back at the trends that have emerged since the WHO declared the COVID-19 outbreak a global pandemic, including how the coronavirus has changed media, how the coronavirus has changed consumer behavior, and how the coronavirus has changed real estate. Most recently, we’ve spotlighted five ways the coronavirus has changed digital marketing for real estate, covering how:

  1. Local is more important than ever
  2. Rapid response applies to everything
  3. Consumers expect more
  4. Costs per lead are going down
  5. Opportunities abound

Today is our last post of the series, and we’re going to end on a high note. We’re looking ahead at the massive opportunity the real estate industry has to come out of this pandemic stronger than ever. 

Opportunities Abound

Just for fun, I did a Google search for “it has never been a better time to be in real estate” and I got 1.4 billion search results. Billion. By contrast, I searched for “second stimulus” and got 183 million search results. Obviously, the amount of content that exists relevant to each search is influenced by many factors and not necessarily indicative of anything other than just that; however, I thought it was telling.

While other sectors are still deeply affected by the COVID-induced recession, with many saying it feels worse than 2008 (data shows its economic impact is in fact, much worse), real estate has been luckier, seeing a much quicker rebound than many expected. Mortgage rates hit an all-time low of 3.29% for a 30-year loan in March and then hit a new all-time low of 2.98% in July 2020. Inventory of homes for sale is down 20% to 40% nationally, leading to “unheard of before” bidding wars, a record number of showings that continues to outpace 2019, and a scramble to keep up with it all. Existing home sales are still down nationally, although new home sales are up by double digits. In many markets, brokerages have made up for losses from April and May in June and July. Research from LendingTree shows searches for “homes for sale” have increased significantly since the pandemic started, with Grand Rapids, MI topping the list with 138% growth since the lowest point in 2020. And by many predictions, 2021 will be a year of growth for the industry.

Much is still uncertain about the months ahead including the path of the coronavirus, a potential vaccine, and more fundamentally, supply and demand. Homebuilders could be a wild card, especially if supply chain issues brought on by the pandemic and access to labor improve. Whatever happens, as Glen Kelman recently stated, ”It would be hard to overstate how strong” the housing market is right now”. Let’s make the most of this moment.

In times of crisis,

The wise build bridges, 

While, 

the foolish build barriers…

  • Abhimanyu Mukherjee

This is part five in a five-part series all about the Ways the Coronavirus Has Changed Digital Marketing for Real Estate.
Read Part 1: The Homebody Economy
Read Part 2: Beyond Leads
Read Part 3: Consumers Expect More
Read Part 4: Bidding, Explained