Recently Point2 Homes conducted a survey of real estate agents and professionals nationwide to learn how the pandemic is affecting their business and what changes they anticipated in the real estate market.
With the vast majority of agents experiencing plummeting homebuyer interest, their level of concern is, understandably, reaching new highs, says the survey. Specifically, 75 per cent of respondents said they were very worried or extremely anxious about the future of their business. Meanwhile, only 22 per cent of agents said they were only somewhat concerned, and three per cent were even optimistic, reporting no particular worries about the whole situation.
Just 10 per cent of all agents surveyed estimated that this period would translate into business losses of less than 25 per cent.
The majority of agents were much less optimistic. In particular, 62 per cent of respondents expected at least half of their business to vanish after this period. Almost one-third of respondents believed the outbreak would cause a drop of more than 75 per cent, says Point2 Homes.
Despite this, most agents and brokers surveyed tended to be more positive in their estimate regarding the timeframe for recovery. A full 80 per cent of respondents expected their business to be back on track in less than 12 months. Of the remainder, 17 per cent believed it might take between one and two years to get back to normal, while a small minority (three per cent) had a more pessimistic outlook.
Ninety-five per cent of agents surveyed believed the outbreak would have a substantial negative influence on the real estate market in general.
Real estate agents reported that they were incorporating new solutions into their work process in an attempt to prepare for the future, but also to navigate the current situation and help homebuyers who still want or need to find a home. Twenty-eight per cent of agents said they had been doing more for their clients, such as taking more pictures of properties and spending more time on the phone answering questions about homes that buyers were unable to visit in person.
What’s more, 23 per cent of respondents said they had become more dependent upon technology and the tools available online. These agents said they had introduced virtual tours in their home descriptions and offered live streams to address buyer questions in real time.
However, 44 per cent of agents said they had either cut expenses to keep the business going or had put everything on hold temporarily. With almost half of respondents mentioning cuts, the domino effect becomes more apparent: professional photographers, home stagers and interior designers are affected in turn.
For the last question (When it comes to home buying and selling, what permanent changes do you think this outbreak will bring?), the agents surveyed had varied responses.
Regarding the pandemic’s more permanent changes to the real estate market, many mentioned a heavier reliance on online tools like virtual tours, live streaming, online buying, virtual signatures and buyer pre-assessment. Others expressed concerns regarding market value, price drops and the real estate market tipping into buyer territory.
The survey for real estate agents and brokers included six multiple-choice and rating questions and one open-ended question. A total of 369 agents answered all the questions in the survey and provided usable, comprehensive answers. The agents were contacted over a period of seven days, between April 7 and 14.
