The current coronavirus pandemic has affected nearly everyone’s life and livelihood. From school closures to shopping restrictions and shortages to social distancing, 2020 is turning out differently than many expected. As the U.S. works to flatten the infection curve while slowly beginning the reopening process, one thing is clear. Home has never been more important.

As real estate is considered an essential business in many states, showings, contracts and closings have continued throughout the pandemic, albeit in creative new ways. Virtual showings, online meetings and signatures, and even virtual closings in some cases, are all part of adjusting to a social distancing society. For Mark Spain Real Estate, adapting has not been as challenging as some brokerages may be experiencing. The firm has been paperless for some time, already enlists the services of professional photography for its listings, hosts open houses at an owner’s request, but has never relied on open houses as the primary way to source buyers and has an agent team that is, for the most part, used to working remotely.

“Agents who heavily relied on in-person open houses to sell their homes are having to reinvent the sales process,” stated Mark Spain Real Estate President John Makarewicz. “We have not believed they are the best or primary way to sell a home for quite some time. Instead, we heavily invested in technology and online marketing.”

Makarewicz says Mark Spain Real Estate also relies on video or virtual tours for nearly all its listings. The timing for this could not be better, as potential homebuyers are relying on a large selection of professional photos and virtual tours to narrow down their options, all from the safety of their current residence. According to the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) data, the percentage of buyers who purchase a home without ever seeing it in person was just 3.5 percent, pre-coronavirus. An NAR survey conducted in early May found this number had spiked to nearly 25 percent.

Additionally, Realtor.com reports that interest in listings with virtual tours has doubled. The number of listing views, saves and shares has also markedly increased in recent weeks.
While U.S. shelter-in-place guidelines first began in some parts of the country on March 16, Mark Spain Real Estate had an all-time record month in March for new listings. According to a first quarter recap on its blog (“Mark Spain 2020 First Quarter Successes and Growth”), its March listings growth was 100 percent over March the previous year and its closing rate was 31 percent higher, year-over-year. March closings were up 23 percent compared to pre-coronavirus rates, with average sales price up 1 percent over the prior year.

In monitoring this same information in April, closings were up 3 percent, compared to pre-COVID-19 and 12 percent, year-over-year. This time, however, the average sales price was up a whopping 15 percent over the prior year and 4 percent, pre-pandemic.

This stat would seem to support NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun’s assessment that home prices are still on the rise. This is, in part, due to an already existing inventory shortage, pre-coronavirus. Prices have continued to increase and bidding wars are occurring in some price points.

“For April, Mark Spain Real Estate’s number of new listings was up 10 percent over pre-COVID-19 rates,” summarized Makarewicz, who oversees offices in Atlanta, Nashville, Charlotte and Raleigh.

In comparison, Realtor.com’s Monthly Housing Trends Report mentioned newly listed homes dropped 44.1 percent nationally in April. In the South, specifically, the new listing rate decreased 31.4 percent for April, year-over-year.

Mark Spain Real Estate’s Guaranteed Offer program—in existence now for more than two years—is also a welcome option for some home sellers right now. This hassle-free model allows sellers a way to quickly sell a home without formally listing it.

“At the end of the day, it still boils down to having an amazing team of agents and staff to make all the various moving parts come together,” explained founder and CEO Mark Spain. “And customer service, coupled with ongoing training, have always been hallmarks of our company. Now, we are just using our expertise to serve others remotely.”

Spain also mentioned the firm is actively hiring real estate agents. The team’s growth, as of March 2020, was up 62 agents, or roughly 40 percent, year-over-year, with more positions to be filled. Interested agents should visit www.joinmarkspain.com to learn more.

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About Mark Spain Real Estate:
Mark Spain Real Estate is the most trusted name in real estate, earning more 5-star reviews than any other real estate company in the United States. It has earned the No. 1 real estate team in America honor for closed transactions the last two consecutive years, and the company has been named to the Inc. 5000 list of fastest-growing private companies in America for four years straight. Mark Spain Real Estate’s mobile site design took top honors in 2019, being named the No. 1 Mobile Website in real estate by REAL Trends. MarkSpain.com also earned the No. 8 spot in the Top 10 Overall Websites. The company was honored in 2017, 2018 and 2020 as one of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s Top Places to Work. It has earned the Atlanta Business Chronicle Pacesetter Award the last three years, for being one of 100 metro Atlanta’s top fastest-growing privately held companies. Mark Spain Real Estate recently made its third appearance on Atlanta’s Top 25 Real Estate Companies annual list in 2020 and debuted on similar lists for Charlotte and Raleigh.

As the leader of such a productive team with cutting edge ideas like its innovative website, Guaranteed Offer program and extensive marketing, Mark Spain was named to the inaugural list of 2019 REAL Trends Game Changers. This list of 50 people who have the potential to change the game of real estate in the coming year, included such honorees as: Gary Keller, co-founder and CEO of Keller Williams International, as well as the CEOs of RE/MAX International, Zillow, Coldwell Banker and HomeServices of America. Mark Spain has also been named to the 2020 Bulldog 100 list of fastest-growing businesses owned or operated by a University of Georgia alumni. Mark Spain Real Estate debuted on the Bulldog 100 list in 2018.