Expect we'll start hearing about a Massive Drop in Home Sales real soon here ...

[mr_lebowski]

I can't go into details but let's just say I have access to the transaction counts of a pretty major entity in the residential real estate field, and MAN ... things are slowing WAY WAY down in the last month.

As you would expect.

Where I would normally see numbers like 250-500 homes sold in such and such time period ... I'm seeing ... 20-40, and that's 2 weeks ago.

Now, these numbers I get have a lag time so the numbers over the last week that are in the SINGLE DIGITS ... will grow as the contracts come in. But I'm expecting them to grow to like 15-25. Instead of 250-500.

So ... man ... I'm here to tell ya almost nobody has been buying homes for going on almost a month now. Sales are down 85-90%.

It's bad. Real bad.

[customerserviceguy]

1. Every bubble eventually pops

We've seen it over the last few weeks with the stock market, clearly real estate was also in a bubble phase. Sometimes it takes an external shock to make this happen and break the forces that pump up the bubble.

[Skittles]

5. always the mitigator

this is WAY MORE than a "popped bubble" and you know it

[customerserviceguy]

8. I've seen

both the stock market and the real estate market soar over the time Trump's been in office, and there are no fundamentals to back up either rise. Both are speculative bubbles, and eventually they had to pop.

Popped bubbles are pretty damned tough on the people who get fucked up by them, I know. I bought a house in 1979 just before the early 1980's recession, and I lost a bunch of money in the dot-bomb collapse some twenty years ago.

Bubbles are caused by frenzy in markets, and the thing that breaks the frenzy is some external force, like an oil price shock, or some other sudden unexpected event. Clearly, the massive slowdown that C-19 is causing is just such an event.

[Hoyt]

2. Values have plunged, people aren't sure of their situation, and mortgage lending

guidelines have to be tougher. Those employed today, could be unemployed next week. Defaults have to increase, and government will probably, and rightly, put restrictions on repossessions and evictions.

[dem4decades]

7. Did you forget Muechin is in charge? He specializes in pain.

[Hoyt]

10. There's that too.

[MoonlitKnight]

3. Link to some real data

[link:https://www.nar.realtor/research-and-statistics/research-reports/nar-flash-survey-economic-pulse|

National Association of Realtors flash survey.

[northlake9]

4. California Realtors told to stop home showings, open houses

The California Association of Realtors told its members Friday to stop all face-to-face sales activities including showings, listing appointments, open houses and property inspections due to coronavirus concerns.

[link:https://www.ocregister.com/2020/03/20/coronavirus-cutback-california-realtors-told-to-stop-home-showings-open-houses/|

[csziggy]

6. Yeah - our timing is perfect

My husband was ready to list his mother's house for sale (she passed in January 2017) two weeks away - then Hurricane Michael hit their area and ripped two thirds of the roof off. He's gotten some repairs done but mostly his family has messed around. They were just getting ready to list it now - after a year of a seller's market in that area due to so many houses being destroyed.

I guess we have to keep it for another couple of years until things get better.

[FM123]

9. Yep.

Can't show listings, can't do open houses, can't do walk throughs or get inspections, and can't do closings - and that's just a few things my realtor friends are dealing with....

[smirkymonkey]

11. Want to take a guess on when the student loan bubble is going to pop?

That is the next big disaster.

[Snarkoleptic]

12. Home values drop as sales decline and inventories expand.

Turns out Trump is really bad at presidenting.

Home values down, stocks decline precipitously, all while he continues to lie and mal-inform the public about COVID-19.
Can we invoke the 25th, then impeach Pence, installing Nancy as POTUS now?

[Dopers_Greed]

13. Everything is about to pop

Housing Market
Student loan bubble
Auto loan bubble
Corporate debt bubble

Just like with 2008, the entire economy is a ponzi scheme

[Captain Zero]

14. does anybody think rents will drop?

rents for apartments or condos? going down?

[JCMach1]

15. National renters strike and it will happen sooner

[Dopers_Greed]

16. They didn't go down at all during the Great Recession

Though IIRC, a lot of leasing offices ran "first month free" specials in my area.