Realtors share COVID-19’s effect on housing market
Like many other mountain counties in north Georgia, Gilmer reaps a healthy amount of revenue through the buying and selling of real estate. While the COVID-19 pandemic has certainly put the brakes on a preponderance of businesses, one area realtor believes her industry is “a little ahead of the game.”
“(It’s) because we had so much virtual stuff in place already, like virtual tours of property,” said Melinda Hadden of Century 21 in the Mountains. “So now we can have those (listings) available to buyers that want to look without actually having to go inside the house. We can make provisions if they do want to go in and look.”
However, in a time when the quickly-spreading Coronavirus is on the march, some sellers are hesitant.
“We are respecting whatever the seller’s wishes are,” she said. “If the seller doesn’t want them to come in, that’s fine and we’re not pressing that. Because everyone has their feelings about how serious it is, and being contaminated.
“But if they do want to let us show it, we can provide gloves, hand wipes, shoe covers and, of course, good hand washing. We have also been able to write contracts virtually for the last few years. If someone wants to make an offer electronically, we can allow them to do it without coming into the office to sign it.”
Hadden said Gov. Brian Kemp has authorized virtual closings with real estate attorneys, and even digital notarization.
“So the things we have under contract, we can go ahead and close them out,” she said. “Our business is 30-45 days out, typically, from the time we get the contract to the time of closing. So we’re really going to feel the effects in the next 60-180 days, because people are really not out looking right now and writing contracts.”
Many realtors are working from home, and attorneys are also writing clauses into real estate contracts that give more leeway with earnest money in case a buyer or seller becomes sick, she said.
“I don’t know what we’re going to look like after this,” Hadden confided. “It’s going to have a huge economic impact on our county because tourism is such a vital part of our business. What it has done to some small, local businesses is going to be devastating … I’m more concerned about that than I am getting the virus.”
Emalene Williamson, with Harry Norman Realtors, noted “a very slim margin” for buyers, or transactions being “lost” in the local market.
“We already had the infrastructure in place to operate virtually, across a lot of ways,” she echoed. “There were immediate changes — where we can now do the closing attorneys, title offices and notaries (virtually). In the industry, we’re seeing very quick changes and acclimations to what needs to be done.”
Williamson pointed out “different levels of need” in the mountain communities.
“If we were not able to operate, there would be people homeless,” she stated. “I’m not seeing this as being a terrible hit, or blow. I’m not trying to be unrealistic. But it’s like the president (Trump) said, the next two weeks are going to be painful. It’s going to be painful across the board in several industries and markets. I think we’re going to come back to a new normal, though, and we’re going to come back very strong.”
Williamson shared there has been widespread sanitizing of properties, and for the time being, Harry Norman offices have been closed down with realtors and others working from home.
“There’s a lot of people that have to go out — (home) inspectors, appraisers, construction workers, there’s repairs that need to be done,” she said. “How are people supposed to take care of the tree that fell on their roof in a storm? We’re all taking preventive measures, because we know our lives are more important than making a dollar.
“It’s basing what needs are most important. So no, we’re definitely not meeting people in our offices … and everybody is being very cautious.”
Steven Cockburn, of Ellijay, is a realtor with the Coldwell Banker High Country Realty office in Blue Ridge.
“I’ve got some listings that I’m trying to get together, but I don’t know if anything’s going to get done with this (shelter in place) shutdown,” he said. “I had a recent sale, but I think everybody’s in a wait-and-see mode about everything.
“The multiple listing service (MLS) is still up and alive (for online viewing or properties), but we don’t have any staff at the office and the door’s locked. If anybody does want to come and see something, right now they can’t. But up until this (last) week, we would take them out by appointment only. We’d want to ride in separate cars, but some people selling don’t want people in their house right now.”
Cockburn said realty is “pretty much like the rest of the country, it’s shutting down. I guess the Lord knows when we’re going to get some relief, but I don’t think anybody else does.”
Chela Bailey, of Re/Max Town & Country, believes the setback for real estate is temporary.
“I think long-term, it’s absolutely great,” she said. “I think that the second the threat of the Coronavirus is over, our industry is going to boom. Right now, it’s difficult to see a slowdown because when we sell a house it’s normally 30 days or more before we have the closing.
“I still have a couple of closings in the works, and I do have one listing where they want to (continue to) list. But I think over time, we’ll certainly see a slowdown in our sales. However, if we get back to normal by the end of April, it’s not going to be so dramatic – it just depends on how long.”
Bailey shared she has around a half-down potential buyers “looking for the right house now for several months.”
“As soon as we find it, I know they’re going to buy it,” she said. “In Gilmer County, we do a really big second-home (business). Those customers are more flexible because they don’t have to have a place to live. So I have people now who are going to be at home looking on the internet for houses.
“Most people don’t want to buy a house without actually seeing it, but the one good thing about this is they’re looking at homes on the internet, they’re researching, they’re calling or texting me or messaging me. They spend a lot of time looking at the ones they like, so I think the second the door is open for us to get back out there, we’re really going to boom.”
Kent Sanford, executive director of the Greater Gilmer Joint Development Authority, believes area real estate activity will rebound over time.
“Until folks started taking this more seriously (the Gilmer Commission’s COVID-19 orders), the reports I was getting reflected stronger activity for both stays and transfers,” he said. “Obviously, it is down now and that overnight activity is pretty much irreplaceable. But for purchases, I think it will just shift forward and strengthen. More and more people want to get away from the population-dense areas, and why not consider the beauty of the mountains?”
Gilmer real estate sales snapshot
Single-family homes sold in March 2019 43
Single-family homes sold in March 2020 33
Current active single-family home listings 131
Current single-family homes under contract 41
Source: Georgiamls.com
COVID-19 and cabin rentals
State realty leader an ‘eternal optimist’
Real estate buying and selling in the mountains may be going through a slow period with the COVID-19 virus roaring through Georgia, but a leader in the industry believes the market will come back eventually — especially in the mountains
Faron King, president of the Georgia Association of Realtors, reported the first two months of the year were “amazingly brisk” and “unusually busy” before sheltering in place became the norm.
“That volume continued into March until we really started realizing how serious this was in Georgia, and steps began to be made to try and get a handle on it,” he said, adding that statistics for March available later this month will reveal how much the market has slowed.
“The interesting thing in our market has been the activity as far as demand, and people searching online and leads coming through the various syndication outlets, like Zillow and Realtor.com,” King said. “They have stayed very robust, and part of that’s cabin fever. People are held up in their homes, and they’re dreaming about having a place in the mountains — if they don’t have a place here already. So they’re shopping … and that’s gotten really popular with virtual tours that are online with a lot of our listings.
“(Potential customers) are able to get a good look and feel for the home, but it’s nothing like the agent shooting a video (while) walking through the house as if they were showing the clients.”
King was asked to project 1-2 months into the future about the real estate market when the Coronavirus has potentially abated.
“I’m an eternal optimist,” he said. “I believe the demand has not subsided. We’ve got people now calling our agents, begging to come look at homes. And a lot of times, it’s a necessity situation — they’ve sold a home and are in a hotel or a rented space that they only have for a short period of time, and they need to get that replacement home.”
Realtors are “disinfecting when they go in and disinfecting when they leave” while showing homes, King revealed.
“I just think that once we bounce back from this, and assuming the economy isn’t unduly damaged because of the length of this pandemic, I think the people who want to be here in the mountains are still going to want to be here in the mountains — and if anything they’re going to want to be here more … people feel safe in the mountains,” he said. “That’s not going to change. They’re going to have a greater desire to be here after all this plays out.”
King said the National Association of Realtors recently reported that 16.2% of Georgia’s economy, or just over $95 billion in a year’s time, is generated by the real estate industry. The “sold volume” for real estate in Gilmer County for 2019 was just over $196.26 million (1,008 sales), he said.