GREENSBORO, N.C. — Buying and selling a home already comes with challenges and COVID-19 restrictions and health concerns are hitting the real estate industry. 

Here in the Piedmont Triad area, experts say the market is pretty steady. However, starting on March 27 after 5 p.m., buyers and sellers will have to rely on seeing homes online only. 

Christopher and Latasha Wallace never imagined having to sell their two-story home in the middle of a global health pandemic. 

“You add in the working from home challenge, the global pandemic, the teaching your kids, you know, and the trying to buy and sell at the time. You’re juggling a lot at one time and it really does present its challenges,” said Christopher Wallace. 

In addition to those challenges, the Greensboro couple is also looking to purchase a new home but the recent Guilford County stay-at-home ordinance has halted that process.   

“The orders to stay at home, we’re going to wait just a little bit. Before, we like to go really hard with it just because I mean, as a buyer, we have to walk into a house and get a feel for it, and so I’m sure that’s how other people feel,” said Latasha Wallace. 

Carmicia Booth, CKG realtor, says now they’re going to rely on virtual tours until the ordinance is lifted.    

“The stay-at-home order is really going to slow some things down but if you have an ambitious buyer, and they really want that house and they`re already familiar with the location,” said Wallace. 

Booth was able to squeeze in viewing for the family of four as they still continue to search for their dream home. Local lenders say home loan interest rates have dropped significantly since the COVID-19 crisis. Other experts say they’ve begun receiving refinancing applications from homeowners for re-financing requests and applications. 

“We have had a pretty good market for a while we always knew eventually it would turn back to a buyer`s. We just didn`t expect it to be in the form of a pandemic,” said Booth. 

It’s a change in the market homeowner Chris says he’s even seen in the past seven days.    

 “I get these alerts where it says price reduced by 15,000, price reduced by 8,000 and I`m like wow this is just happening within the past week,” said Wallace. 

Despite the uncertainty of the future, the Wallace family will rely on their faith and the help of their realtor to get them through this process.      

“Whatever is meant for us will be for us and so we live by that,” said Latasha Wallace. 

In Guilford County, real estate is considered an “essential” operation under the current stay-at-home ordinance.