“Ok, I was wrong.”
When the impact of coronavirus was just starting to hit us here in St. Louis, I had a bunch of clients contact me and ask if it was a good time to buy or sell. Our country was in the beginning phases of a pandemic, and it seemed like every other agent in my newsfeed was telling their clients “Now is the time to make a move! Buy! Sell! Do it now!!“ I just wasn’t there, and there were still a ton of questions to be answered.
Questions like:
Are houses safe to go in?
What safety measures need to be put in place to safely hold an Open House?
Can we hold Open Houses at all?
What if people are furloughed in the middle of being under contract on a home? Would this cause them to be denied their financing?
How will clients get municipality/occupancy inspections if local municipalities are closed?
Will clients be able to close, but then have to wait months to move in, until city issues passing occupancy certificates?
How will the pandemic effect the market, will there be way less demand? Will houses sit on the market longer since buyers are not out seeing homes?
What about legally? If a buyer contracted Covid-19 at a home they were touring would those sellers be liable in some way?
I didn’t know the answers to these questions. No one did. So, I had to do something I have never done before. I told people not to buy or sell. I told my clients that the smartest thing any of them could do is wait and see how this plays out, and then respond to it.
Here we are in May, and I will be the first to say it. I was wrong. Apparently, the stay at home order and social distancing has just made young people say “You know what if I’m gonna be stuck at home, I want it to be my own home” and “If I can’t go out on the weekends we might as well be doing home projects and adding to our equity.” South City, and Central Corridor markets are as hot as I’ve ever seen. The last four deals I have been involved in have had at least 5 offers on the first day on the market, and have sold for more than 20k over list price.
“Ok, I was right”
Even though I have beaten myself up a little bit on telling my clients to wait through a housing market that stayed strong, I still stand by it. I will always encourage my client’s to make smart moves and to not roll the dice with their greatest financial asset. So ultimately, I was wrong, but I was right. That being said, if you have a home to sell in St.Louis City or St. Louis County get it on the market now. Demand is high, and inventory is low. You will thank me when you have an extra 30k in your pocket.