Virginia REALTORS^® has conducted a weekly survey of members since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, asking members if and how the COVID-19 outbreak has impacted home buyer and seller interest and behavior. During the survey conducted May 8^th and 9^th, 2020, we asked REALTORS^® to compare conditions in the housing market now to what they were seeing a month ago, in the early weeks of COVID-19. We received responses from 850 Virginia REALTORS^® across the Commonwealth.

Buyer Activity in the Market

Some REALTORS^® are seeing an uptick in buyer interest and activity in the market. There are still markets where buyer activity remains weaker; however, activity remains higher in Virginia compared to other places in the U.S.

• About 45% of Virginia REALTORS^® say that, compared to a month ago, buyer activity in their market has increased modestly or substantially.
• However, 37.5% of Virginia REALTORS^® indicate that there is somewhat or substantially less buyer activity now compared to a month ago. Another 17.3% say that there has been no change in the market.
• Conditions have improved faster in Virginia than in many other places around the U.S. According to a May 3-4 survey conducted by the National Association of REALTORS^®, only 11% of REALTORS^® reported that there has been an increase in buyer activity compared to a month ago.

Prices

The survey results suggest that prices are holding firmer here in Virginia compared to other places in the country:

• More than half (54%) of Virginia REALTORS^® report that buyers are not expecting lower prices in the market. By comparison, only 41% of REALTORS^® nationally say that there are no expectations of price drops among buyers.
• Among Virginia REALTORS^® who do say buyers are expecting lower prices, typically the expectations are for modest drops. About a quarter (23%) indicate buyers are expecting a price decline of less than 5%.
• REALTORS^® nationally are seeing buyers expecting bigger declines in prices. For example, about one in five REALTORS^® nationally (19%) say buyers are expecting prices to fall by more than 10%. By contrast, only 7% of Virginia REALTORS^® say buyers are expecting prices to decline by more than 10%.

• More than three-quarters of Virginia REALTORS^® (76%) say that they have had no sellers reduce their list price to attract buyers. This is about the same as the share of REALTORS^® nationally (73%).
• One in five Virginia REALTORS^® (20%) say that sellers are reducing prices by less than 5%. Nationally, REALTORS^® report bigger price reductions among sellers compared to what Virginia REALTORS^® have been experiencing.

A note about surveys: This is not a randomized sample survey of Virginia REALTORS^® members. Larger sample sizes generally make it easier to make inferences about the population of Virginia REALTORS^®, with a certain level of confidence. The statistics from this survey have a margin of error of between +/- 3.3% and +/- 3.7%.

Virginia REALTORS^® will continue to monitor the economic and housing market impacts of COVID-19 in Virginia. Please check the COVID-19 page on the Virginia REALTORS^® website for updates. In addition, each Thursday afternoon at 4:00 p.m. we will host a Facebook Live on the impact of COVID-19 on the economy and the housing market. For more information, please contact Lisa Sturtevant (lsturtevant@virginiarealtors.org).