Would you believe us if we told you that people are still buying and selling homes during the COVID-19 pandemic? Well, it’s true! And that’s because not only is it part of every American’s dream to own their first home, but now, more than ever, home is the most important place in the world. But how are home buyers shopping?
According to a survey from Realtor.com, around 25% of buyers state they would buy a home without even seeing it in person. Truth is, 68% of people stated that the pandemic didn’t change their plans of moving or not, and of those who’s plans have changed, 9% of those who were not planning to move, now have to. Only 14% of people decided to stay put.
As it was without a pandemic and social distancing orders, technology was already proving to be a necessary tool in the real estate industry, but now, it’s everything. Popular home shopping websites like Zillow and Redfin have had a drastic increase in video chat and 3D home tours.
It’s no secret that the real estate industry has been facing some difficulties with restrictions on open houses and face-to-face meetings with clients, but the technology to support the industry has been here for quite some time now, to accommodate for everyone’s safety while closing your transactions.
The good news is that numbers show us that everyone is rolling with the punches. According to the survey, 23% of buyers are okay with visiting the property of interest alone without their agent, 13% prefer a video tour and 6% would rather have their agent visiting the property while on a video chat. Buyers are quite receptive to these new forms of information and over half of them said they preferred virtual tours, and detailed information of the property and neighborhood.
On the other end, sellers seem even more open and willing to make these deals happen, as more than half of sellers said they were comfortable with their agent taking photos of their property, giving a virtual tour; and even holding a physical open house! Additionally, 47% would let an agent walk a buyer through the home in person; 44% would let the agent walk a buyer through the home via video chat.
Although most people preferred traditional methods during the home buying/selling processes, we have no choice but to fully embrace technology in this sense and allow it to show us how easy it can make life during these difficult times. All things considered, with or without a pandemic, these transactions need to close, because people need their homes… their safe spaces.
