It’s been just over 1 week since the Governor’s Executive Order 2020-21: Temporary requirement to suspend activities that are not necessary to sustain or protect life.

This order has meant the end of in-person showings and open houses – essentially putting a hold on our usually busy Spring season.  There are very few new listings and many are for yet-to-be-built homes as nearly all sellers and buyers choose to delay instead of risking the health of themselves and others. There are tools to show homes virtually including Zoom, FaceTime, Virtual Tours, etc. for someone that absolutely needs to sell or buy but these situations are extremely rare and generally not recommended for making real estate investment decisions.

For people who already had a purchase agreement in place, the process can proceed to closing as Lenders, Appraisers, Inspectors, and Title companies are still working albeit with the appropriate precautions.

Although the above mentioned Executive Order went into effect March 24th, the impact on the real estate market can now begin to be quantified:

Plymouth and Northville: March New Listings Down down approximately 30% Year over Year

New listing activity (except for yet-to-be-built homes) has slowed to a dry trickle as people stay at home.  Even if agents and photographers were allowed to travel and work, new listing activity would be nearly as low in my estimation.  People simply don’t want to endanger themselves or others unnecessarily. The April data when available should be even more telling.

Plymouth and Northville: March Active Listings Down down approximately 20% Year over Year

Active listings for March are also down year over year reinforcing the message above. The impact of COVID-19 mitigation actions has resulted in a frozen real estate market that will gradually thaw after we can flatten the curve and get past the worst of this crisis. Please stay safe everyone. Real estate will always be here.