2020 LoCo Real Estate Market with Cathy Howell and Debbie Wicker of Keller Williams

The 2020 real estate market in Northern Virginia has been unlike any other year.  Record lows—in both inventory and interest rates—have spurred activity. Two Keller Williams top-producing agents, Cathy Howell and Debbie Wicker, explain what's going on and how homes are being bought and sold, safely, in 2020.

• Debbie Wicker is a licensed broker and team leader at Keller Williams Loudoun Gateway. She has been helping clients buy and sell homes for over 30 years.  Debbie can also be seen on the TV program, American Dream, showcasing real estate in Loudoun County.
  
  
• Cathy Howell is a top producing agent at Keller Williams.  A long-time resident of Northern Virginia, she specializes in relocating clients to Virginia and has built a successful business on referrals.
  
  
• According to Debbie, the local 2020 real estate  market was really strong at the beginning of the year. Multiple contracts on every property were the norm.  Then the pandemic and sheltering in place struck full force and everything came to a screeching halt. But fast forward 10 days, and the market was back to its incredible pace. Even now, it is a strong seller’s market. Homes don’t last more than a few days on the market.  And the low interest rates have helped our market stay nice and robust.
  
  
• Cathy, who specializes in senior real estate, is seeing the same thing though her experience was a little different.  Her priority is 55+ buyers, so her business shut down longer our of fear and concern for staying safe.  Some of the new home communities even shut down.  With Van Metre Homes, for example, realotrs had to make appointments. Because of the safety steps that Van Metre put into place, she actually has people driving in from out of state for showings.
  
  
• Cathy has also done a lot of video walkthroughs with her 55+ clients.  Agents like Debbie take safety precautions to sell their clients’ homes while Cathy focuses on helping them to safely buy a home.
  
  
• They’ve also been utilizing virtual open houses because traditional open houses came to a screeching halt.  New protocols are in place and they’ve seen great success on both the buy and sell side.  Anyone who lists their home right now will have tremendous success.
  
  
• Bottom line: now is the time to buy or sell a house.  Interest rates are at historic lows. Home ownership is more affordable than ever. So jump in and find that new house!