In December 2019, the first cases of coronavirus were registered in Wuhan, China. By the end of winter 2020, over 2,700 people died of the virus, the number of infected exceeded 80,000.

How did COVID-19 affect real estate markets in the world?

China

As of February 2020, in seven dozen Chinese cities, the cost of housing in the new buildings increased by only 6.4% per year. This is the lowest price rise over the past two years.

It is hard to say for sure, how much coronavirus has generally affected the Chinese economy. According to preliminary data, the growth rate of housing prices will continue to fall. In just a couple of months, real estate sales in China decreased by 90%.

Singapore

Analysts believe that due to coronavirus in January-March this year, the number of transactions on the sale of condominiums and apartments in the country, most likely, will be decreased by around 35%. For fear of COVID-19 infection, customers, who wish to purchase property in Singapore, began to cancel their visits to open houses and appointments with real estate agents and sellers. Similar situation is observed with the property owners.

USA

According to experts of the real estate organization Nest Seeker International, coronavirus can increase the inflow of Chinese investment into the USA real estate market. It is worth noting that even before the coronavirus pandemic, the majority of overseas buyers of residential properties in the United States were exactly Chinese citizens. In their greatest demand are the properties in New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles.

Canada

Dynamic growth of investing into real estate in Canada by the Chinese investors, in its turn, has always been one of the main drivers of price rise for Canadian housing. Experts are convinced that the situation with COVID-19 will most likely affect retail and the hotel industry.

Italy

Banks have temporarily stopped accepting mortgage payments for citizens from the north of Italy, where most cases of coronavirus are registered.