Real estate agents doing business in Warren County said despite all the challenges of 2020, it’s been quite a busy year in the world of buying and selling houses.

“It has been crazy. I’ve never seen a market like this,” said Samantha Richardson, co-owner of Main Street Real Estate in Warrenton. “When the pandemic hit, we thought we were going to be slow, but we have been crazy busy.”

Richardson provided data from the Maris real estate system, showing that almost 600 properties were sold throughout Warren County in the first nine months of the year. That’s a 13-percent increase from this time last year. Homes are also being sold more quickly and at a significantly higher price, the data shows.

Richardson said the real estate industry was concerned during the onset of COVID-19 that layoffs and economic downturn would prevent people from buying homes. But she said only one of her contracts was impacted by someone losing their job.

In fact, multiple real estate agents said the federal government’s response to the pandemic may have actually energized the real estate market. To head off a recession, the Federal Reserve this year dropped interest rates on lending, making it less expensive to borrow money throughout the U.S.

“Because interest rates are so low, people are wanting to buy. ... They can get more house for less money, or less per month,” Richardson explained.

She said many people are moving away from urban areas to Warren County to get away from crowding and away from social issues in St. Louis County.

Michelle Smith with Platinum Realty said another notable change in the real estate market during COVID is how everyone interacts with one another.

“You’re definitely more careful. My sellers act differently, as far as when people come into their home,” Smith commented. “Depending on their preference, they might want you to come in with gloves, masks, or shoes covered. Others leave all the lights on so you’re not touching the light switches.”

Buyers are also more interested in home office space now that they’re working from home, Smith said.

She commented that initial fears around COVID did slow her business for several weeks in March and April. But since then, the phones haven’t stopped ringing.

Smith said she expects to see the real estate boom continue for a while yet, but signs of slowing might be on the horizon next year. Rising prices for construction could specifically impact the market for newly built homes, she said.

On top of that, people put out of work by the pandemic might soon impact financial lenders if they have trouble making their mortgage payments.

“We’re going to see a correction in the market. We have to,” Smith predicted.

However, until that happens, Westplex Real Estate co-owners Tom Brengle and John Meier said home buyers in Warren County are facing a market with lots of competition and not enough homes to meet demand. That’s driving up prices.

“People are wanting to move out this way, and the price driver is there’s no listings. I think I could sell my house for $100,000 more, and I just bought it last year,” Meier commented.

The Westplex owners suggested that one reason more local people aren’t selling their homes is because they realize they might have trouble buying one.

“I have two or three clients right now who are actually living with brothers, parents, or somewhere else, just waiting for a house,” Meier said. “They took advantage of selling their house at the high market, but there’s none out there for them to buy.”

Brengle said this busy market is the complete opposite of a trend the Warren County area saw a dozen years ago.

“I think people are leaving east and coming out west,” Brengle explained. “Whereas back in ’08, ’09, when the gas was $3.50 or $4 a gallon, everybody was leaving Warrenton ... to get closer to their jobs.”

Brengle said he knows this market won’t last forever. After every high eventually comes a low.

“I’ve been doing this 25 years. It’s always been a bit of a roller coaster,” Brengle said. “It never just goes up and stays, and it never just bottoms out and stays. It always cycles.”