03/17/2020
COVID-19 UPDATE:
A lot of clients, friends, and family have approached me to test my fears for the real estate market. Many are surprised at my response at my overall positive outlook. The real estate market is not the financial market. Real estate is so much more stable. The last major setback we saw was back in 2008, and the Vermont Real Estate Market dropped a few percentage points while the financial markets crumbled around us. In Vermont's prime real estate markets, there is still a housing shortage. Vermont's development laws restrict how much and how fast developers can build. High impact fees on developers w**d out a large amount of other developments.
Another factor is the myth is that our population is shrinking. In some areas, that's true. A recent trip to Jay Peak via the border towns confirmed that. However, Northwest Vermont, the population is growing. This growth increases during times of turmoil. I personally have several friends that moved to Vermont after 9/11 and they've stayed. More recently, I've helped a number of families move to Vermont from California - families that have fled the wild fires. Vermont is a very safe place to live and our quality of life is very hard to beat.
Truthfully, this may be our best time to panic, but resist the darkness! Don't feed your panic, instead feed your faith in good and be positive. Keep calm, wash your hands, and carry on.
So for now, let's do what we need to do by practicing social distancing to flatten the bell curve. I pulled my kids out of school early and I'm looking forward to sheltering in place with them. I hope you too get some quality time with family and the ones you love. The health of our seniors and those with underlying health conditions is riding on it.
So is it a good time to buy or sell? To be sure, it's a great time to make a plan for it; to be ready for things to come roaring back as they will soon - There's not much you can do to hold the Vermont real estate market down for long.
