COVID-19 continues to negatively affect Ohio's real estate markets
For the second consecutive week, the Ohio REALTORS Flash Survey: Economic Pulse finds the state's commercial and residential markets negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Flash Survey, which was conducted April 14-15, is an integral component of our ongoing discussions with the DeWine Administration, the Economic Recovery Task Force of the Ohio House of Representatives and business leaders in trying to identify measures to keep Ohio's real estate market stable during these challenging times.
Key findings of our Week 2 survey:
- 84 percent of respondent indicated that COVID-19 has significantly decreased or decreased home buyer interest. This is relatively unchanged from last week's mark of 85 percent);
- 86 percent said the virus has affected the number of homes on the market. A slight uptick from the 84 percent of a week ago;
- For the second straight week, 48 percent of respondents said sellers have removed homes from the market;
- The top three changes in seller behavior were unchanged: Stop holding open house (82 percent), Buyers using hand sanitizer (71 percent), and Sellers not allowing buyers into home (53 percent);
- Commercial/Industrial leases have shown a 88 percent significant decline or decline due to coronavirus. A week ago, 90 percent of respondents indicated a downturn in leasing;
- 86 percent of respondents said interest in C/I purchases have significantly decreased or decreased, lower than the 93 percent from last week's survey;
- 71 percent said the stock market correction has significant decreased or decreased interest in leasing, a decline from the 76 percent citing it a week ago;
- The top two impacts coronavirus is having on building practices were unchanged: Tenants working remotely (63 percent) and More frequent cleaning (58 percent).
Additionally, Ohio REALTORS added a question to both surveys about whether practitioners were planning to take advantage of the government assistance programs available due to COVID-19.
- Have you applied for a SBA loan program: 15 percent (residential); 23 percent (C/I)
- Do you plan to apply for a SBA loan: 8 percent (residential); 14 percent (C/I)
- Have you applied for the "Paycheck Protection Program": 14 percent (residential); 29 percent (C/I)
- Do you plan to apply for the "Paycheck Protection Program": 11 percent (residential); 12 percent (C/I)
- Yes -- I plan to apply for the "Pandemic Unemployment Assistance" fund: 40 percent (residential); 36 percent
These polls are launched for a 24-hour period with the release of our eConnections digest (every Tuesday) to get a sense for the ever-changing landscape that the market is facing. Links will also be available on all of our social media pages. We greatly appreciate everyone's active participation in our initial survey.
CLICK HERE to view the full results from the poll conducted April 14-15.
