Triangle real estate market still hot despite outbreak

The Triangle has been one of the hottest real estate markets in the country in recent years, and so far through this outbreak the trend seems to be holding.

Real estate agent Tricia Manneh is a veteran of the Triangle market and she is a little surprised by what she's seen during the last two weeks.

"It's surprising because I was expecting it to be different. I was expecting everything to come to a complete halt, but surprisingly it hasn't," Manneh said.

And that's what experts are seeing as they look at the Triangle region as a whole.

Stacey Anfindsen has been analyzing real estate since the 1980s. He thinks one of the most important stats to look at right now is pending sales. He compared last week to the same week in the past ten years and found the final week of March in 2020 saw relatively average numbers.

"The good news is there is still demand for housing in our market and there are houses available and people are pulling the trigger even in the midst of all that's going on," Anfindsen said.

Many real estate agents are now switching to virtual showings and taking precautions when they do have to meet in person with buyers and sellers, but much of the process remains traditional.

"One thing that real estate has always had going for it is that 99% of all real estate purchases start online so buyers are used to doing this. In the old days you had to get in the car with the agent to go look at it. So this isn't really a change in behavior for them," Anfindsen said.

"What I am seeing is the homes that are still going on the market are getting multiple offers especially in the 300-price point -- North Raleigh, all of those areas and Cary," Manneh said.

Being stuck inside the home for such long periods of time could also cause people to enter the market for an upgrade. Agents are hoping the trends from the last few weeks are able to hold as the outbreak leads to more financial challenges in other industries.