This spring is certainly one that we'll remember long after it's gone. Homeselling season seemed to be keying up like every other year, but perhaps a bit stronger.
HomeLight, a property-tech company based in San Francisco, conducts a first quarter survey in February each year, with 572 respondents in 2020. But this year, by March, the company realized that sentiment and activity surrounding real estate had changed fairly dramatically.
The company sent out another survey in March to gauge coronavirus' impact on the spring housing market from the perspective of 601 top agents all over the country.
Forty-one percent of agents said they'd seen seller activity decline in their market since coronavirus escalated, and 45 percent reported buyer activity slowing down.
Of sellers who had decided to move forward, 66 percent had decided to take protective measures such as halting open houses in favor of showing only (32 percent) or requiring that buyers wash hands or use hand sanitizer (21 percent).
It sounds like real estate is slowing overall, and it might be for a short time, but also, agents are finding new and exciting digital solutions for practicing real estate.
For example, while 84 percent of top agents surveyed reported shutting down open houses during COVID-19, 55 percent said they were leaning into virtual tours. Virtual tours allow potential buyers to "walk through" homes without ever stepping foot in them, from the comfort of their own homes on a computer, tablet or smart phone.
Selling a Home This Spring? Here's What 500 Top Real Estate Agents Say You Should Do
Brought to you by HomeLight.
Agents are also turning to listing appointments or seller consultations via video call. Open houses are becoming virtual tours or even livestreamed events and walkthroughs for house hunters via Zoom. And new digital or mobile solutions are stepping in at the closing table.
As reported by HomeLight writer Summer Rylander, agents, who make up a major portion of an industry that's historically been slow to adopt new technology, are offering:
-Curbside closings that allow clients to sign documentation from the comfort of their garage, porch, or even through an exterior window of the home
-Drive-in closings where clients meet in some kind of lot (directed by signage), and sign documents from their car - either with the windows open or by slipping the paperwork through a narrow crack
-Mail-in closings where clients receive their documentation in the mail, sign from home, and mail it back or drop it off in a safe location
-E-signature when possible using software like DocuSign (not all states allow digital signatures on closing paperwork)
Although adoption of these tech innovations was spurred on out of necessity due to COVID-19, many of them will likely become commonplace in the real estate industry moving forward as supplementary or strategic technology solutions.
If homeowners are looking to improve their homes for virtual tours or aerial drone footage to impress buyers, a few of the most impactful improvements homeowners can make are painting and replacing gutters, windows and siding.
Paint is a simple DIY project that can make a home feel new. Of the agents polled in HomeLight's survey, 98 percent said that buyers prefer neutral tones over bold ones. Seventy-nine percent prefer gray tones, and only 9 percent prefer beige tones. And accent walls are on their way out, according to 36 percent of surveyed agents.
A whopping 80 percent of agents reported that homeowners can get back what they invested and more at resale when replacing windows and siding, and by going with energy efficient windows, 46 percent of agents say homeowners will boost the home's value. Installing quality gutters can earn sellers 60 percent ROI.
Regardless of whether waiting to buy or sell, consumers still have options and plenty to do to prepare, even in the midst of COVID-19.
