“I’m nervous the layoffs and change in economy
will cause the bottom to fall out,” said McBride,
the mother of a 4-year-old.
McBride is among many sellers and buyers, in
the United States as well as in Europe, caught
in the grip of a pandemic that has upended the
housing market just as it was entering the busy
spring season.
Shutdown orders have halted open houses
and complicated property viewings. Sellers are
delaying listings or yanking their properties off
the market. Prospective buyers are dropping
out, some of them after losing jobs.
Agents are turning to virtual tours, electronic
signatures and “drive-through” closings, where
paperwork is completed through car windows.
Where it’s still allowed, buyers and agents are
entering homes separately, armed with hand
sanitizers and wipes.
Mortgage applications to buy a home fell 12%
in the week that ended April 3 compared with
the previous week — and were a stunning
33% lower than in the same week last year, the
Mortgage Bankers Association reported. Home
buying applications are at their lowest level
since 2015, the MBA said.
The mortgage industry itself is reeling as
hundreds of thousands of Americans have
temporarily stopped paying their mortgages
under the federal coronavirus relief bill. The
MBA is among several housing industry groups
that have called for federal aid for mortgage
servicers, who handle paperwork for lenders.
A collapse of sales could trigger a series of
reactions that would further damage the
economy. Further declines will mean fewer