COVID-19 impacts Richmond

Virginia housing market

Andre Jackson

The impacts of Covid-19 are vast and wide. The pandemic has brought both social, psychological, and economic impacts since it was reported in the US. Economy wise, the pandemic has affected all aspects of the economy. Businesses have temporarily closed while others have laid off their workers to keep the business running. In the housing market, the pandemic has had significant impacts so far, even as experts warn everyone to embrace for tougher times are coming.

In Richmond, housing market experts towards the end of April sighted that the Richmond housing market retains its strength, but there are signs that the pandemic is having an impact on home listings. The Central Virginia Regional Multiple Listing Services released a report in mid-April, showing an increase in the number of new listings in the region between February and March. Still, at the same time, there the number of homes taken off the market skyrocketed as the impacts of the pandemic became severe. May record the highest rate of home sales compared to other times of the year. But this year, the story has been different. The social distancing directives and the stay-home campaigns have locked everyone behind their doors, including home buyers and sellers, not only in Virginia but also in most US parts. The housing market in the US began to show signs of a slowdown towards the end of March. According to a March Housing trends report released at the beginning of April by realtor.com, the yearover-year listing inventory had significantly declined this year, and prices decelerated towards the end of March.

In the midst, all this crisis, the housing prices in the Richmond area could never drop. The average prices in the area skyrocketed by 7% to a staggering $270,000 compared to $259,000 in the same period last year. This marks the largest house price increase in the area over the previous two years. Despite the uncertainties surrounding the Covid-19 pandemic, housing agents in Richmond have taken it upon themselves to continue with their usual activities but strictly adhering to the public health directives. According to

Richmond Times-Dispatch, agents in the area are disinfecting the homes before showing to any buyer. Also, they are utilizing the use of virtual house tours to other interested buyers in order to reduce the risk of Covid-19 transmission. Laura Lafayette, the Richmond Association of Realtor’s chief executive officer, commented on this saying, “It’s really important for the overall health of our regional economy that the real estate market continue to work.” The agents were required to follow all the safety guidelines while taking their potential buyer around the house. They are supposed to wear gloves when touching any surfaces around the house. They are also required to sanitize their hands before and entering the house on sale and keep their hands to themselves while inside the house. Lafayette, however, discouraged against holding the public open houses, but they should only continue with the real estate practices.

According to a question and answer session on the Virginia Realtors website, the Virginia housing market is not headed for a crash despite the hard economic times. The impacts of the pandemic are dragging the US economy towards recession. Still, experts say that the impact it will have on the housing market will differ from what was witnessed during the Great Depression of 2007.

The impacts of the pandemic will be different because of various reasons. First, the mortgage standards currently are stricter than they were during the period of the Great Depression. Back then, mortgage lending was so easier to get, and many people ended up borrowing even without the capacity to payback.

Another reason is that, back then, during the Great Depression, Virginia had excess homes for sale after a round of massive new construction of single-family homes. The situation is very different currently as the supply of homes is very limited and regulated. Therefore, there are not too many houses for sale chasing few buyers.

According to Virginia Realtors, a price drop across Virginia is likelier as the pandemic impacts continue to persist. This will be as a result of many potential buyers adopting the “wait and see” approach while others cancel their home-buying plans due to a disruption in income.

However, the real estate agents carry on with their real estate practices; you are advised to employ the safest methods if you want to take a tour of a home. The best way to do this is by asking the agent to guide you through a virtual tour. This is the most recommended method as the country intensifies its war against Covid-19. If you need any further information concerning the housing market in Richmond, you can talk to Bishop Andre Jackson, who is one of our VIP agents in the Richmond area. VIP Agents is a program powered and run by The Power Is Now Media Inc. Bishop Andre is a native resident at Richmond where he has lived for over 21 years and therefore, he understands what is going on in the area better than anyone else.

Bishop Andre Jackson is the owner of Jackson Medical Supplies and Equipment, he also owns a record label, Ground Up Record and Production Co. He is also the Vice president of BASA Publishing and The American Clergy Leadership Conference of Northern California and National Co-chair. Bishop Andre holds a master’s degree in Christian Counselling and Theology and a doctorate degree in Christian Education and Theology; both of them from Sacramental Theological Seminary. You can reach out to him with any Richmond housing market questions through https://thepowerisnow.com/andrejackson/.

Works cited

https://www.wtvr.com/news/coronavirus/covid19-impacts-richmond-housing-market. https://www.virginiarealtors.org/2020/03/19/faqcovid-19s-impact-on-the-housing-market/. https://www.builderonline.com/money/richmondreal-estate-agents-adapting-to-covid-19_c.