If you’re planning to buy a home in the next little while, you will likely have to do it sight unseen. Just a few days after the Ontario Real Estate Association (OREA) urged its members to cancel all open houses, the group is now urging agents to stop all person-to-person business. That includes “open houses, and in-person showings, particularity of tenant-occupied homes,” OREA said in a statement Tuesday afternoon. “While clients who may decide to host private showings during this time are making the decision for themselves, tenants often have no choice in the matter, putting the health of all those involved at risk.”.
The Covid-19 has changed the way we live our daily lives, and it has upended countless business sectors, including our real estate market. Real estate agents, buyers and sellers are struggling to do business when it’s anything but business as usual. This is a day-to-day situation. We are currently living through history. For Canada’s housing market the immediate future is uncertain. We are trying to find solutions in the era of social distancing and mandatory quarantines. However, we are seeing some steady activity as some appear undeterred. In fact, some buyers have taken encouragement from recent rate cuts implemented to combat the crisis. Lower interest rates can serve as rocket fuel for home prices, but that might not likely be the case this time.
Stocks have fallen hard in the last couple of weeks, so does that mean Toronto Real Estate is the new gold? Sales of houses and condos for the first week in March were up 47% over the same period last year and average prices rose 18%. Sales are still strong, there are still plenty of bidding wars, and open houses are still busy. There has also been a sharp decline in interest rates for all kinds of borrowing including mortgage rates. These lower interest rates have sent the mortgage industry into a frenzy, as buyer’s race to take advantage of cheaper loans. A five-year fixed-rate loan is sitting as low as 2.29%, close to the record low of 2.09% offered in November 2016, after oil prices crashed and the central bank had to cut rates to stimulate the economy. But could these rate cuts be a warning sign about a lack of security for jobs and incomes? The one good beacon of hope is the health crisis appears to be fading in China and South Korea, creating the possibility of future positive surprises.
Businesses all over the world are becoming increasingly concerned about the Coronavirus’s impact on various markets. Could our real estate market be affected? Toronto was one the first places in Canada to experience Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) related emergencies in 2003. Interestingly, housing sales data from 2003 in Toronto show no apparent signs of suffering. Sales increased in units from the previous year, and similarly the average sale price increased during the same time period. Coronavirus to date has already claimed more lives than SARS did in 2003. The uncertainty about how long the threat will last and how quickly it can be contained will weigh heavily on the markets. Since the epicentre of the breakout is far from Canada, it is probable that the adverse impacts on Canadian markets will be moderate at worst.