From Forbes this week: What Will America’s Housing Market Look Like After The Coronavirus Pandemic Ends? Here’s What 5 Top Producing Real Estate Agents Had To Say. Peter Lane Taylor writes, “While the broad consensus was that the residential housing market will quickly re-set, every agent I spoke with agreed that real estate fundamentally will never quite be the same again. Economic crises have long-lasting effects on people’s psyches and decision-making as well as their pocketbooks. Covid-19’s long-term re-ordering will take months, if not years, to shake out. What the new normal looks like is anyone’s guess.” Do you have an opinion on what will happen when the dust settles?
2. TO DREAM OR NOT TO DREAM
Chase now requires 700 FICO score, 20% down payment to buy a home reports Housingwire. “Put simply, if a borrower doesn’t have a 20% down payment and a FICO score of 700 or above, they will likely not be able get a loan from Chase to buy a home. According to Chase, those lending standards also apply to refinances on non-Chase mortgages. It should be noted that the changes do not apply to Chase’s DreaMaker mortgage program, which makes loans available for low-to-moderate income borrowers with as little as 3% down and reduced mortgage insurance requirements.”
3. HOT OR BOTHERED
“The market has yet to collapse like in 2008, and assistance is available for homeowners, making panic sales less likely. Even so, the current health crisis already is stirring concern in some corners and interest in others.” The Seattle Times reported this week about how some Advocates worry house flippers may bank on coronavirus fear to target Seattle area homeowners.
4. IBUYER BEGONE
This week The Motley Fool suggested reasons Why Zillow Might Not Buy Houses Again Even After the Pandemic Ends. “Having seen the trends develop, the online real estate specialist stopped making offers to buy homes for sale through its Zillow Offers program and began canceling contracts it already had in place to purchase houses.” I believe the iBuying strategy that popped up in response to the housing boom may not return for quite a while.
5. SELLER REMINDER
I’ve spent some time this week in both Lowes and Home Depot. I haven’t seen these two big box home improvement retailers this busy in a long time. Perhaps some of the folks there have read this Forbes article sharing these simple reminders: 4 Things You Can Do To Get Your Home Ready To Hit The Market After Coronavirus. “While the spring market would typically be in full force right now, coronavirus has put a temporary halt to most real estate activity. However, that doesn’t mean that you can’t take the time to get your home ready to go up for sale once the pandemic is under control.”
BONUS? I’ll LET YOU DECIDE!
I’m not sure how I found this ‘gem’ of a post compiled by the Lighter Side of Real Estate but here you go. “Anyone who’s seen even a minute of the Netflix show “Tiger King” knows that Exotic Joe and his crew lead pretty crazy lives. So, who better to help put into words the day to day craziness we experience as real estate agents?! Here are 19 ways the crazy crew of Tiger King nails what it’s like to be a real estate agent: Life As A Real Estate Agent, As Told By Tiger King.” Have you seen this show? Is it as bizarre as it appears in these images?
