In general, I would say the Virus pandemic has driven the Real Estate market into a state of hibernation. Buyers still need to buy but were cautious about going out. Sellers still need to sell, but did not want to expose their homes or families to exposure to the virus by allowing outsiders to come through their homes.
I watch the residential market in my area every morning. During the Covid months (March April, May), new listings in the Watsonville area had pretty much dried up. We would get one or two new listings in a week. In general the count of listings which had come on the market in the past 7 days stood at 3 -5.
This morning that number is 17.
My take on this change is that people are relaxing their defenses. The real estate industry has, in coordination with state and local guidelines, instituted practices to minimize contamination by prospective buyers touring homes. Sellers have determined they cannot delay putting their homes on the market any longer, and that the measures in place offer them adequate protection.
So, what I see now is the end of a self imposed hibernation period by home sellers. While the short term result is a relative abundance of homes coming to market, I caution against viewing this as a Buyers Market.Demand still outstrips available homes for sale, but for a short period, Buyers who are willing to venture out and act decisively, will have a larger array of homes to choose from.