Hey Dave….. These are crazy times. We currently have our home on the market and are wanting to downsize. We listed our house about 6 weeks ago and the showings started strong and have dwindled to near nothing the past 2 weeks. What should we do? Should we keep it on the market? Are prices going to go up or go down? I guess, overall, how do you think this Coronavirus will impact the housing market here in Grand Junction.
Judy, Grand Junction
Judy,
Wow! You are right! These are crazy times and the only sure bet is that nobody knows how this will ultimately play out. Your current experience mirrors most everybody’s experience over the past 6 weeks and the speed that this has happened is hard to fathom. Two weeks ago homes were being shown and contracts being presented and as of today, there are very few showings and even fewer contracts. So take some solace in the fact that you are not alone. I know that not being the only one is not very comforting, but there is some comfort in the fact that there is little you can do right now to change the number of showings you are getting on your home.
I would suggest holding the line for now and staying the course. As far as I am concerned, the data sample we currently have is too small to make important decisions. The real estate market has slowed over the past few weeks, but prior to Coronavirus our team was already on pace to shatter our best year ever and we were only 2 months in! Things have changed and I am prayerful they can change fast again! We need to see how the stimulus package falls out and what support that provides to workers and small business owners. We need to see how long the shelter in place remains in effect, and if in fact, it ends April 11, how fast does the interest in real estate regain its momentum. What happens with interest rates? Interest rates are all over the board, up one day, down the next. There are too many blurry angles to get a real clear picture of what lies ahead, but I am confident in Mesa County’s short and long term future. I think prices will remain fairly solid as inventory is still low and demand will once again be high after the fog lifts. Mesa County needs more homes, as I believe demand will grow from this Coronavirus as people realize that living on top of one another in urban settings is not as appealing as it was pre-pandemic. There are going to be many silver linings to these events, but may not be completely visible yet. A certain level of faith is the name of the game moving forward.
There are so many variables that are far above my pay grade that I am taking the outlook of controlling the things I can control and letting go of the things I can’t! Take a deep breath and come to the realization that this is a global issue and the bumpy road ahead will spare very few. I can remember my mom saying, “we are all in this together” and I would think, yeah we are in this together because you are making me be “all in this together”, but in this case, we really are ALL in this together! I am prayerful that each and every one of us can put aside our politics, religion, sexual identity, and economic status and band together moving forward. Maybe a pandemic is what was needed to bring us all back together! It's hard to see the light when you just enter the tunnel, but as you keep walking the light will appear and hopefully keep getting brighter! I hope that helps.
Dave Kimbrough
The Kimbrough Team
