The first case of the novel coronavirus in El Paso County was documented on March 6; and, on March 25, Colorado Gov. Jared Polis announced a statewide stay-at-home order to prevent the spread of the virus, resulting in the temporary closure of many non-essential businesses. The construction industry was not ordered to close but had to follow strict social/physical distancing guidelines, according to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environmentís website.Even with the arrival of COVID-19 in the county, the housing market has not appeared to suffer much, including new builds, said Carrie Bartow. As the president of the Housing and Building Association of Colorado Springs, Bartow said she has noticed some slowdown in the number of new building permits submitted to the Pikes Peak Regional Building Department in May, but that could be attributed to a delay in getting supplies.ìWe came into COVID-19 with a housing shortage and we are probably going to come out of it with a shortage,î she said. ìConstruction may be slowed or delayed several weeks by supply issues and stuff coming out of California.îAccording to the data found on the building departmentís website, the total number of single-family construction permits submitted in EPC from January 2019 to May 2019 is about 10 more than the total from January 2020 to May 2020.ìBuilders have been able to build and provide the housing we need,î Bartow said. ìThe demand is not going away so I am not really surprised.îAs with new construction, the existing housing market has not suffered as much as being in the midst of a pandemic might suggest.Catherine Brown-Swain, a real estate agent with Properties of Colorado, said initially members of the real estate community were concerned when Polis announced in March that real estate sales was not an essential business. That announcement was quickly reversed within a day or two, but mandates were put in place to determine how real estate transactions could take place, including how real estate agents could show properties to potential buyers, she said.Brown-Swain said, although she does residential real estate, her specialty is land sales, usually for a ranch or property set up to accommodate horses as well as a residence. Because of the pandemic, she said she is seeing more inquiries about properties further out into the country because people want to move to less populated areas.Overall, Brown-Swaine said she has not experienced a marked slow-down in business. ìWe are still projected this year to increase in (home) prices and selling properties,î she said. ìBut it is changing day to day.îAs of May 1, real estate agents have been allowed to do in-person showings as long as they take proper safety precautions, including wearing masks and booties and limiting the amount of people looking at a particular property at one time.With builder confidence across the nation still high, Bartow said it looks like any slowdown in the residential construction industry could make a strong recovery in the fourth quarter of 2020. ìOur builders have done an awesome job with operating their businesses with safety precautions in place and getting the housing products they have out to the public,î she said. ìThe housing demand is still as strong as it was before COVID-19.î
