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“China has been the most important source of foreign demand for real estate”, says Lawrence Yun, chief economist at the National Association of Realtors.
Aside from Park City and Deer Valley, Utah does not generally attract a lot of foreign investors, including those from China. Even before the coronavirus, there was a large drop in 2019 compared to the prior year in the number of U.S. homes being purchased by Chinese buyers due to their government tightening the rules relating to how much money can leave their country. That drop in Chinese buyers had little impact on the housing market, especially here in Utah, so any additional reduction related to the coronavirus, will likely have little impact on the local or national real estate market.
A reduction in foreign buyers is not the only concern. A worldwide pandemic could impact the economy, job growth and wages, all of which impact the real estate market. The coronavirus, with a one percent fatality rate, is 10 times more deadly than the regular flu. At this point, the coronavirus has not had a significant impact on the national or local real estate market, but it is too early to tell what the long term impact might be.
- Jeff Jorgensen
Sources: Realtor.com, by Clare Trapasso, Feb 6, 2020
The Guardian, by Hannah Devlin, Feb 28, 2020
Photo by Macau Photo Agency on Unsplash
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