How Coronavirus Has Affected The LA Real Estate Market

June 17, 2020

How Coronavirus Has Affected The LA Real Estate Market
With stay-at-home orders and the other changes we have seen as a result of the coronavirus, it is hard to say how many have been affected by the crisis. Many people are wondering what all this has done to the Los Angeles real estate market given that small businesses and other industries have had to adapt to the new normal.
 
Showing Properties
 
While properties in LA were still being shown and sold in early March, that came to a halt on March 19 as the stay-at-home order was issued to shut down all non-essential businesses. On March 28, real estate was deemed an essential industry, so property showings continued after a short time of uncertainty.
 
However, the stay-at-home orders still had an effect on local real estate in LA. A list of best practices was brought forth to minimize contact between people, and it included the suggestion to start showing properties virtually rather than in person. As of today, we are able to show properties as long as we adhere to safety measures such as wearing masks. Open houses are still prohibited and we expect that measure to be in place for some time to come.
 
The Impact Of The Coronavirus
 
With so many alterations to people’s day-to-day lives, the real estate market in LA has of course been impacted over the last few months. Buyers and sellers became more hesitant to buy or sell homes. New listings per month took a dive between March and April, and the number of pending sales per month was also dramatically reduced.
 
Because of the coronavirus, there was a clear decline as the real estate market saw fewer people willing to put their house on the market amid the crisis. With pending sales of properties often peaking in the summer and declining in the winter, they often pick back up around March. However, this year, the decline in pending sales went far below the numbers we would typically see during the winter months.
 
On the buyer side, we have not seen a decline, causing there to be a shortage of homes for buyers to choose from as sellers are reluctant to go to market.
 
The Future Of LA Real Estate
 
So what does all of this mean for the future of LA real estate during the coronavirus pandemic? With the decline in pending sales and listings, we could see that sale pricing will flatten, but we expect it to jump right back up as soon as sellers are willing to go to market.
 
Despite the uncertainty, we are hopeful that everything will balance out as more people take advantage of the buyer’s market following the retraction of stay-at-home orders.

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