Home builders in Maryland prepare for

HOME-BUILDERS IN MARYLAND PREPARE FOR A SURGE IN OUTER SUBURBS’ PULLBACKS FROM URBAN CENTERS

Emerick A. Peace

In the wake of Coronavirus, large cities and metropolises are left reeling from the economic downturn and high death rates that are precipitated by a range of city factors such as population density, overtaxed labor force, high level of unemployment, and a burdened health sector. Covid-19 is spread rapidly in places that are crowded. The victims cannot receive adequate care because of limited medical personnel and resources. The death toll results in an overtaxed labor force, and this is coupled with a high level of unemployment because the ability of the state to create jobs is compromised. Migrating to the suburbs, away from big cities and bustling urban centers has never been a more appealing prospect than it is right now. Homebuilding industries and agencies are scrambling around in their bid to make the most of this season. Homebuilding is fast escalating all around, instilling confidence and excitement in contractors alike as cities and metropolises are being evacuated for the less-crowded, more spacious allure of the suburbs. DeeDee Miller, President of Maryland’s Realtors, admitted that the pandemic brought about unprecedented low interests that made affordable housing an achievable feat.

To kick-start the economy from the Coronavirus’s devastation, the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) lowered the target rate. As a result, housing starts (housing starts indicate the number of new private homes coming under construction), building permits (building permits reveal the prevailing trends and direction in the housing sector), and pending home sales are continuously rising while construction loan interest rates are decidedly low to encourage

Maryland has been said to experience the best and worst of the housing crisis. For example, Prince George’s County in Maryland supposedly saw a very high level of foreclosure rates while some areas experienced a temporary dip this year, but Maryland is still maintaining its sustainable levels. According to property investors in Maryland, the record-low interest rates have made home prices more affordable while making it possible to borrow more funds. Cheaper financing expenses motivate home builders to increase the building and renovating of new and existing homes.

In preparing for the surge in home buyers and investors, home builders are buying out small-time regional builders as a way of expanding into new markets. Large industries and companies secure access to the country’s most desirable locations in the suburbs and exurbs in Maryland. These large industries and their smaller counterparts take preemptive steps to obtain debts and equity financing for large construction projects.

Lawrence Yun, the chief economist at the National Association of Realtors (NAR), pointed out that inventory has been tight for the past months and consumer demands far surpass the housing market listings; a typical case of unmatched demand-and- supply metrics. Therefore, it comes as no surprise that the sales of homes far outweigh the asking prices, much to the delight of the home building team and realtors who try to make the most of this by increasing their land holdings and inventories. It is worth noting that these unmatched metrics in demand-and-supply have led to the increase in housing starts, double increase in the price of lumber since April.

In the stock market, shares of home builders are fast on the rise as they enjoy the benefits of a competitive housing market where migrants clamor for the best home deals in the suburbs that afford them more work-from-home space and sets a slower pace compared to the noisome and fastpaced nature of the cities.

For homebuilders, the housing market has been favorable and, so far, has offered many opportunities for growth and development, especially in the Suburban areas.

References

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.washingtonpost.com/ news/where-we-live/wp/2015/04/14/suburban-marylandareas-where-houses-are-selling-quickly/%3foutputType=amp https://www.valueline.com/Stocks/Industries/Industry_ Overview__Homebuilding.aspx#.X7e4rnoo_qB https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.baltimoresun.com/ business/real-estate/bs-pr-bz-baltimore-real-estate-pandemicboom- 20201029-f3l34p5nsfafbahh5sebayvmzqstory.html%3foutputType=amp

COVID-19 ROADMAP AND THE SEARCH FOR VACCINE

In the year 2019, the world experienced one of the deadliest viruses in the history of human existence- the novel Coronavirus 19, commonly known as Covid-19. The outbreak of this deadly virus started in Wuhan, China, and it quickly spread like a rampaging wildfire to different parts of the world. Gradually, it found its way to the United States. The US recorded its first Covid-19 case on January 21, 2020, when a young man from Washington man returned from Wuhan.

Since then, the United States, like every other part of the world, has been battling this deadly virus. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that the first local transmission of the virus in California was a patient who has no travel history to any region with the outbreak. The patient also didn’t have any history of coming in contact with anyone diagnosed with the virus. Different states in the US, including New York, Washington, and Oregon, announced their respective community transmission cases.

SEVERITY

As of late November 2020, statistics show that there are about 62.8 million total Coronavirus cases in the world. Out of all these infected people, 40.2 million have recovered, and 1.46 million have died. However, the United States has about 13.4 million cases, which is one of the highest in the world. The death toll in the United States now stands at about 267,000. The US is one of the highest hit regions in the world, mostly because of its high immigration rate. Perhaps it

wouldn’t have been so bad if international and interstate movements were closed earlier. At first, the US government was reluctant to put the country on total lockdown, which contributed significantly to why the virus quickly found its way across the country. The Trump administration was severely criticized for its handling of the pandemic resulting in the loss of lives. The approach adopted by the US government can be a possible reason why the country ended

up nen one of the hardest hit by the pandemic. The virus could have been curtailed earlier, but President Trump played down the severity of the virus. The president said “it’s going to disappear” but unfortunately, it kept spreading across the country rather than disappearing. Even at the point when it was killing a lot of Americans, the president still claimed “we have it so well under control.” Unfortunately, When the US government finally announced a lockdown, some Americans were against the policy and went on with their daily lives. This also contributed to why the virus went out of hand.

HOW IT HAS AFFECTED FRONTLINE WORKERS

Battling a deadly virus like the Coronavirus is tough for frontline workers. This sort of pandemic has not happened in decades; hence, it came as at an unexpected time putting healthcare workers on their toes. Frontline workers are vulnerable to distress. Studies have revealed that many frontline workers, especially medical and health workers and nurses, are battling depression, distress, insomnia, anxiety, anger, fear, and posttraumatic stress disorder. According to amnesty international, over 7,000 health workers worldwide have lost their lives to the virus. In the US alone, over 1,077 died after contracting the virus.

WHAT ARE THE EAST, WEST, AND CENTRAL STATE DOING ABOUT THE VIRUS?

Every part of the United States, including the East coast, West coast, and the Central states, are affected by the virus. However, to control the pandemic in this festive season, the governors of California, Washington, and Oregon have advised visitors in their states to be self-quarantined.

According to the governor of California — Gavin Newson, “California just surpassed a sobering threshold – one million COVID-19 cases – with no signs of the virus slowing down.” The governor added that “Increased cases are adding pressure on our hospital systems and threatening the lives of seniors, essential workers, and vulnerable Californians.”

Oregon now records over a thousand new cases per day. In his response to curtail the virus, Oregon governor — Kate Brown has announced to close gyms and limit restaurants only to serve takeaways. According to a video the governor shared on social media, she said, “If we do not act immediately, we will soon reach a breaking point.”

New York currently has about 653,000 cases with over 34,150 deaths. To curtail the virus on the east coasts, the east coast governors have come together to form a task force. They’re working together to get rid of the virus and put the economy back on its feet.

States in the Central United States is one of the regions suffering the most from the Coronavirus pandemic in the United States. For instance, out of the 13.6 million cases in the United States, Texas alone accounts for 1.26 million cases with over 21,968 deaths. The Texas governor — Greg Abbot, has come under heavy criticism for his approach to

The Oxford University/AstraZeneca vaccine is 62 – 90% effective and can be stored at normal fridge temperature.

Illinois is another Central state battling heavily with the virus. The state has tested about 10.5 million people, out of which 726,304 tested positive and 12,278 have died. However, according to the state of Illinois the virus yet. Thus, to ensure

official website, “Illinois has a low demand comes a fall in

seen an unprecedented number of unemployment claims during this challenging time, and the administration has moved swiftly to meet this increased demand and expand access to benefits.” It further explains how the Illinois government has been helping its citizens to survive the effects of the pandemic and put the economy back on track. It proceeded, “Since March at the start of the pandemic, the administration has paid out more than $16.5 billion in unemployment insurance benefits to nearly 3 million claimants.”

CONTROL MEASURES

Controlling this rampaging pandemic requires a reduction in physical interaction. Thus, the World Health Organization the virus can be managed from spreading and causing further chaos. Among their guidelines is that people should stay at least six feet away from others. This is important because even a healthy-looking fellow may have contracted the virus and can spread it to any nearby person even without showing any symptoms of the proper implementation of these guidelines, governments around the world, including the US government, announced a lockdown. This entails that businesses are closed and social places locked down.

EFFECTS OF THE LOCKDOWN

With businesses locked down, roads closed, and movement restricted, the world’s economic activities were primarily affected. Many people in the United States and other parts of the world lost their jobs, and the US government was forced to provide relief packages to businesses and individuals. Several sections of the economy were affected, including the real estate industry. With a lack of funds in circulation, there was not enough money for investors to purchase properties. Thus, with (WHO) gave guidelines on how

property prices. Therefore prices of properties, just like many other commodities, were largely affected, and they sell at low prices.

THE SEARCH FOR VACCINE: US WITHDRAWAL FROM THE WHO

While the world is still in shock of the Covid-19, the US government, under the Trump administration, announced its withdrawal from the World Health Organization effective July 6 2021. In May this year, President Trump said “We

On the other hand, the Pfizer/BioNtech vaccine is 95% effective and can be stored at a very low temperature of -70C. The Moderna Vaccine can be stored at -20C for up to six months, and it is 95% effective.

will be terminating our relationship with the World Health Organization and directing those funds to other global public health charities.”

Over the years, America has always been one of the biggest donors to the WHO. With more resources comes more research for the WHO and America has been helping with that. Unfortunately, America withdrew its support. This came due to an accusation by the United States government, claiming that the WHO has failed in its response to the pandemic and on other health issues. It further accused the WHO of not demonstrating its independence from the Chinese Communist Party. President Trump said “China has total control over the World Health Organization,” and that the organization has come under pressure by China to “mislead the world.”

Following this announcement, the US government came under heavy criticism for taking such a decision in the middle of a global crisis where all hands are expected to be on deck. However, the US government stuck to its decision and announced it would look for a better partner it can trust.

Nevertheless, there seems to be hope that the US will continue to work with the WHO. The United States president-elect — Joe Biden, had announced it would reverse Trump’s decision before the withdrawal process was complete. The US will continue to maintain its good relationships with the World Health Organization. Mr. Biden was quoted on his official Twitter account saying “On my first day as President, I will rejoin the WHO and restore our leadership on the world stage.”

WHEN SHOULD WE EXPECT A VACCINE?

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), “in the United States, there is not yet an authorized or approved vaccine to prevent coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).”

However, the best way out of this pandemic is having a vaccine plus an effective treatment. With a vaccine, the body’s immune system can be empowered to combat any trace of the virus in the system.

Therefore, there will be no new cases any longer. The question now is, how close are we to the vaccine?

There has been a significant breakthrough in developing the Coronavirus vaccine; hence, we can expect them anytime soon. Among the top researchers that have recorded breakthroughs in developing the vaccine are Oxford University/AstraZeneca, Pfizer/BioNtech, and Moderna. The Oxford University/AstraZeneca vaccine is 62 – 90% effective and can be stored at normal fridge temperature. On the other hand, the Pfizer/BioNtech vaccine is 95% effective and can be stored at a very low temperature of -70C. The Moderna Vaccine can be stored at -20C for up to six months, and it is 95% effective.

These vaccines are still in their preliminary phase and not yet peer-reviewed. However, the fact that they’ve proven to be effective gives us new hope. More so, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has said that “supplies will increase over time, and all adults should be able to get vaccinated later in 2021.” On the part of children, CDC proceeded by saying “a COVID-19 vaccine may not be available for young children until more studies are completed.”

CONCLUSION

As the world is getting prepared for the festive period, we must know that Coronavirus is still very 8n Town and active and no cure for it. Many people are getting infected every day, and a lot of them die every day. Hence, for a safer world free of pandemics, we all should adhere to the laid down regulations while in the festive mood.

References

https://www.bbc.com/news/amp/health-51665497 https://abcnews.go.com/amp/Health/timeline-coronavirus-started/ story?id=69435165 https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/1270061/US-lockdown-When-didthe-US-go-into-lockdown/amp https://news.google.com/covid19/map?hl=en-NG&mid=%2Fm%2F09c7w0 &gl=NG&ceid=NG%3Aen https://coronavirus.illinois.gov/s/ https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/faq.html