Published in the March 24, 2020 edition.

By GAIL LOWE

WAKEFIELD — A North Shore couple in their early 30s rent an apartment but have saved enough money to qualify them for buying a house valued at between $550,00 and $600,000. (To protect their privacy, in this article they will be referred to as the Johnsons.)

Beginning last June, the Johnsons had reserved most weekends for house hunting. They attended open houses all over the North Shore, listened to their realtor’s advice and placed bids on homes they could see themselves living in for decades to come.

Surely, by March 1, 2020 they would be living in the home of their dreams, they both thought.

But they didn’t take into account the bidding wars they would encounter due to the robust economy. Even when they bid $25,000 over asking price several times, they lost out to a higher bidder.

The Johnsons would never have guessed that what appeared to be a particularly vicious flu season in Wuhan, China would turn into a pandemic circling the globe in a matter of only a few months. Though the couple did all the right things, from practicing frugality to saving every spare dollar, they also didn’t take into account that one or both of them could lose their job.

But this is exactly what has happened to Mr. Johnson, a restaurant chef. His whole life turned upside down when COVID-19 began sweeping through Massachusetts and Governor Charlie Baker ordered that restaurants and bars close down to mitigate the virus’s spread.

At first, the restaurant owner told Johnson he would keep him on the payroll. All his other employees had to be let go. Takeout deliveries would keep the two of them plenty busy, the owner said.

But then, the phone didn’t ring and food orders weren’t being placed. The owner had no choice but to close his restaurant and let Johnson go, too.

To make matters worse, Johnson’s wife is a physical therapist and works with people who have had knee and hip replacements. Now that elective surgery has been placed on hold, her own job could be in jeopardy.

If Chief Executive Officer and President of the Federal Reserve Bank in Minneapolis Neel Kashkari’s prediction that millions of Americans will lose their jobs due to COVID-19 proves correct, the Johnsons will have plenty of company. Kashkari was interviewed on 60 Minutes recently by correspondent and anchor Scott Pelley and spoke about the global financial impact.

On a positive note, some home prices are decreasing by as much as $50,000. For instance, a listing on www.realtor.com for a Wakefield home on Water Street shows a drop of $50,000 from its previous asking price of $949,000. But if people are losing their jobs or fear that they might, how much difference will a price reduction make?

Gene Mullen, a realtor from Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC, is optimistic. He believes that COVID-19 has caused the market to pause from the recent robust activity as brokers rethink open house activity and showing options, but that serious buyers are still out there.

“We, as a group of realtors, are enacting new ways to engage safely with buyers,” he said. “We expect this (COVID-19 impact) to be short lived, although my primary concern is with buyers who may have a large portion of their down payment money tied to the stock market.”

Johnson did not disclose where the money for his down payment is invested.

Realtor Laurie Hunt of North Star Realtors on Richardson Avenue shares Mullen’s optimism.

“I’m surprised at how often my phone is ringing,” she said. “Having said that, I should not be surprised because people have to move all the time, every day, no matter what the market is doing and what the economy is like.”

Hunt continued, saying that she is hearing from other agents that they are still in bidding wars in various towns.

But COVID-19 is affecting open houses, and realtors are now having to limit the number of people who go inside a home.

“Some people are not holding open houses and are just having private showings,” Hunt said.

She added that she has a listing scheduled to come on the market this week. “This is really going to be telling,” she said.

Gerald Barrett of Christopher J. Barrett Realtors on Albion Street had this to say on behalf of his family: “While the COVID-19 public health crisis has changed some of the ways we do business, it has not stopped us from doing business.

“We are actively marketing our properties with virtual tours, interactive floor plans and video walk-throughs. Our agents are using video conferencing platforms to meet with clients and stakeholders to ensure that transactions are able to move forward without interruption. Our number one priority is the safety of our dedicated agents and the community we serve. Our thoughts are with everyone in the community, and we continue to look for ways to be helpers.”

In one sense, the Johnsons discussed earlier in this article consider themselves fortunate they did not find their dream home.

“We would be struggling,” he said. “Paying a big mortgage would have put my wife and me in a real mess.”