First, let me start by saying that I hope you and yours are staying safe during these uncertain times. 

 Uncertain times. That’s really what they are. What is not uncertain is that once we get through this — and we will — our communities, economies, and industries will have shifted and the ripple effect will require time to recover. 

For our part, we’ve asked our team to work from home and practice the recommended social distancing. 

From a real estate standpoint, there is definitely uncertainty in regard to the short term outlook. 

 So far in 2020, we had been experiencing an extreme sellers market where the number of active listings had been very low (33% down, year-over-year) and was not keeping up with demand.

In the past few days, the market continues to be active with new properties being listed for sale and others selling with multiple offers. Obviously the situation is evolving on a daily basis and we’re keeping an ear to the ground. 

 We cannot predict what will happen in the weeks/months ahead however we can take lessons from past market challenges such as the Financial Crisis in 2008. At that time, there was a ‘wait and see’ approach as buyers and sellers waited for the dust to settle. When consumer confidence returned, the pent-up demand lead to a boom in real estate that lasted nearly a decade before the government intervened in 2017. 

 Given the current climate, I believe a similar ‘wait and see’ approach will be adopted by many.

For our clients that are looking for advice during these times, we are here to help. Please do feel free to reach out anytime. In the meantime, let’s collectively try to stay calm, heed the advice of experts, and avoid the hysterical toilet paper panic buying!