Impact of COVID-19 remains significant on Ohio's real estate market
The COVID-19 pandemic continues to present significant challenges to Ohio's real estate marketplace, as results from this week's Ohio REALTORS Flash Survey: Economic Pulse finds both the residential and commercial sectors experiencing ongoing declines in activity levels.
The Flash Survey, which was conducted April 21-22, 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 3 survey:
- 78 percent of respondent indicated that COVID-19 has significantly decreased or decreased home buyer interest. Of note, the number of respondents indicating "significant decrease" dropped to its lowest level in three weeks, with "decreased" and "no change" categories reaching their highest mark;
- 87 percent said the virus has affected the number of homes on the market. A slight uptick from the 86 percent of a week ago;
- 47 percent of respondents said sellers have removed homes from the market, relatively unchanged from prior weeks;
- The top three changes in seller behavior were unchanged: Stop holding open house (81 percent), Buyers using hand sanitizer (74 percent), and Sellers not allowing buyers into home (55 percent);
- Commercial/Industrial leases have shown a 91 percent significant decline or decline due to coronavirus. A week ago, 88 percent of respondents indicated a downturn in leasing;
- 81 percent of respondents said interest in C/I purchases have significantly decreased or decreased, lower than the 86 percent from last week's survey. Of note, there has been a continual increase in "no change" over the course of the Flash Survey, moving from 5 percent in the initial poll to 14 percent this week;
- 71 percent said the stock market correction has significant decreased or decreased interest in leasing, steady from the results of a week ago;
- The top two impacts coronavirus is having on building practices were unchanged: Tenants working remotely and More frequent cleaning (both at 70 percent).
Finally, Ohio REALTORS asked practitioners whether they were planning to take advantage of the government assistance programs available due to COVID-19.
- I have applied for a SBA loan program: 14 percent (residential) / 21 percent (C/I);
- I plan to apply for a SBA loan: 6 percent (residential) / 2 percent (C/I);
- I was approved for a SBA loan: 2 percent (residential) / 7 percent (C/I)
- I applied for the "Paycheck Protection Program": 15 percent (residential) / 31 percent (C/I);
- I plan to apply for the "Paycheck Protection Program": 9 percent (residential) / 10 percent (C/I);
- I was approved for the "Paycheck Protection Program": 4 percent (residential) / 12 percent (C/I);
- Yes -- I plan to apply for the "Pandemic Unemployment Assistance" fund: 29 percent (residential) / 29 percent (C/I);
- No plans to use government assistance programs: 47 percent (residential) / 26 percent (C/I).
These polls are launched for a 24-hour period with the release of our eConnections digest (every Tuesday) to assess 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 21-22.
