What a difference a pandemic makes. Before COVID-19 hit New York, sales prices were falling and rents were heating up rapidly, according to StreetEasy Market Reports. But as the first quarter of the year ended, and social distancing took hold, the city’s new sales inventory dropped significantly, with 73% fewer new sales listings added to StreetEasy between March 15 and March 29 than in the two weeks prior. Buyer activity dropped off, as well, with 58% fewer homes going into contract in the last two full weeks of March compared to the first two weeks.
“Economic uncertainty is causing understandable hesitation from buyers, sellers, and renters,” said StreetEasy Economist Nancy Wu. “In the best-case scenario, home-shopping season has simply been postponed for a few months. With so many variables, including how COVID-19 may spread and other policy and economic reactions to the virus, it’s too soon to try and predict what will happen. But if coronavirus does in fact trigger a global recession, we could see prices and buyer activity levels mimic what happened during the 2008 financial crisis.”
New rental listings fell 52% in the second half of March compared to the first half, the company reported. While asking rents changed minimally, 20% fewer landlords offered a rent cut on their unit at the end of the month than the beginning. Rather than offer discounts, many landlords have chosen to keep their units off the market until the pandemic slows.
However, sellers are still trying to market their properties. The addition of walkthrough videos to listings on StreetEasy increased 330% in March over February. Since March 15, daily walkthrough video views jumped eightfold on rental listings and threefold on sales listings. StreetEasy also launched 3D home tours to help shoppers continue their search through an integration with the Zillow 3D home app.
“Activity continues for those who need to move for life events, or renters who must sign a new lease,” Wu added. “New Yorkers are nimble, and our adaptation to the times and quick adoption of new technology is like nothing this city has seen before.”
