Buying and Selling Season is Tougher This Year

The usual spring surge has been delayed by the pandemic.

Although interest rates are currently low, experts say that getting a mortgage will still require patience and persistence — and, unfortunately, might be a bit more difficult than usual during this time.

At the same time, millions of Americans are losing their jobs. Their financial futures now hang in the balance. All of that places the spring buying and selling season, typically the busiest time of year for home sales, in serious jeopardy. According to Zillow, the number of new listings usually grows around 50% from March to early April, but fell 19% this year, as the virus spread. Listings were down 27.1% in the first week of April.

It makes sense. No one knows when social distancing rules will be relaxed, and if or when the economy will recover from this unprecedented shock. "Our understanding of US economic conditions is changing weekly, if not daily, and early unemployment figures are striking, so it's understandable that some are hesitant to put their home on the market," said Skylar Olsen, senior principal economist at Zillow. "But activity continues from those who need to buy or sell for a job, or another major life event."

There's no doubt purchasing or selling a home amid the pandemic will prove more difficult, but it's not impossible. Transactions are still happening thanks in large part to an assist from technology.