Money managers say drop in market temporary, helping housing market

ATLANTA — Coronavirus fears sent stocks into another alarming slide Thursday.

Trading paused for 15 minutes Thursday morning after a big sell-off at the opening bell, and things didn't improve much throughout the day.

The Dow Jones ended the day more than 2,300 points down, almost 10%. The Nasdaq closed 750 points lower for 9.5% drop.

This drop sure is painful, but we have been here before.

In October 2008, the stock market suffered a one-week drop of 18%. Over the last five trading days, the stock market had nearly a 19% drop.

Money managers are unanimous in that the market will bounce back from this.

“Once the public realizes we shift from death rate to survival rate, then Americans are so fierce and independent, and Americans start going back to work and back outside, and then it starts to get back to normal,” said Wes Moss, Capital Investment chief investment strategist.

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Moss said if you can stomach times such as these, they unquestionably present buying opportunities.

One of the markets that is seeing a positive impact is the housing market.

If you're shopping for a home, be prepared to act with conviction.

In talking with the pros who make transactions happen, Channel 2’s Justin Farmer found new historic-low interest rates are fueling an already hot metro Atlanta market.

Erin Yabroudy has been selling houses in good times and bad.

“The job market in Atlanta is incredible,” Yabroudy said.

Good jobs combined with record low interest rates are making home-buying a bit of a sport.

“It’s hot! I listed something Friday and had three offers for 98% of the list price,” Yabroudy said.

Of course, to buy a home, you need a loan.

Mark Shay, with Fairway Mortgage, says not only has the coronavirus not negatively affected his business, it's actually spurred more activity by pushing interest rates lower.

“No, we are not seeing people spooked,” Shay said. “With the interest rates and the rate drop we saw last week, we're seeing historic low interest rates. Somebody shopping just 10 days ago could afford an additional $50,000 now because of the decrease in rates.”

The message seems clear: If you're trying to find a new home, don't wait, and if you're selling your home, your timing is ideal.

The pros think the low rates will be here for at least a few weeks, and Wall Street is expecting the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates again in the coming weeks.

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