Buyers are up against a limited number of homes for sale available on the market. They continue to quickly pounce on whatever is available. The National Association of REALTORS® reported Thursday that existing-home sales in September were up 21% year over year. Home prices jumped 14.8% last month too, averaging $311,800.

But will the housing market open up to more buyers later in the fall? Realtor.com®’s Weekly Housing Report reflecting the week ending Oct. 17 shows some relief may be in sight for buyers who have been struggling to find a home to buy. The number of homes for sale appears to be leveling off, according to realtor.com®. However, researchers are quick to point out that it still very much remains a seller’s market heading into November.

“During a time when the housing market usually slows down, we are once again reminded that 2020 is anything but typical,” says Danielle Hale, realtor.com®’s chief economist. “Going into the last half of October, the median U.S. home for sale is still priced near the year’s peak and is selling almost two weeks faster than last year. At the same time, the pace of change has steadied and, for some indicators, even slowed. This could be a welcome relief for buyers who have navigated not only a pandemic but also a fiercely competitive 2020 homebuying season characterized by double-digit price growth and record low inventory.”

Newly listed homes nationwide fell 6% during the week ending Oct. 17, which is a slight uptick from the previous week, realtor.com®’s report shows. New listings, however, remain “vastly improved” over earlier in the year, and for the fourth consecutive week they are above the pre-pandemic pace.

“A stabilizing new listings trend could tempt potential sellers—who often are also buyers—to list their home,” realtor.com® says.

Still, total inventory continues to be down 38% year over year, realtor.com® reports.

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The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage hit its 11th record of the year this week, averaging 2.80%—the lowest rate ever recorded by Freddie Mac.

“Mortgage rates remain very low, providing homeowners who have not already taken advantage of this environment ample opportunity to do so,” says Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist. “Mortgage rates today are on average more than a full percentage point lower than rates over the last five years. This means that most low- and moderate-income borrowers who purchased during the last few years stand to benefit by exploring refinancing to lower their monthly payment.”

The low loan rates are fueling a hot housing market as buyers rush to lock in the rates. In September, existing-home sales jumped 21% compared to a year ago, the National Association of REALTORS® reported this week.

Freddie Mac reports the following national averages for mortgage rates for the week ending Oct. 22:

• 30-year fixed-rate mortgages: Averaged 2.80%, with an average 0.6 point, dropping from last week’s previous all-time low of 2.81%. Last year at this time, 30-year rates averaged 3.75%.
• 15-year fixed-rate mortgages: Averaged 2.33%, with an average 0.6 point, dropping from last week’s 2.35% average. A year ago, 15-year rates averaged 3.18%.
• 5-year hybrid adjustable-rate mortgages: Averaged 2.87%, with an average 0.3 point, falling from last week’s 2.90% average. A year ago, 5-year ARMs averaged 3.40%.

Freddie Mac reports average commitment rates along with average points to reflect the total upfront cost of obtaining a mortgage.

Single-family homeowners with FHA-insured mortgages who are struggling financially amid the pandemic now have through Dec. 31 to submit an initial forbearance request. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development announced this week that it’s extending the deadline, originally set for Oct. 30, for those needing to make an initial COVID-19–related forbearance request to their lender.

The change puts FHA’s forbearance actions in line with its extended foreclosure moratorium, which expires Dec. 31.

“By providing this important extension, FHA seeks to assist those struggling with the continued financial effects of the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Dana Wade, HUD assistant secretary for housing and federal housing commissioner, in a statement. “Our goal is to make sure that no homeowner loses their home unnecessarily as a result of this pandemic.”

For homeowners who request it, the FHA requires lenders to provide up to six months of COVID-19 forbearance. Six more months can be added for homeowners who request an extension from that initial forbearance.

About 400,000 homeowners are “needlessly delinquent,” said Urban Institute researchers Laurie Goodman and Michael Neal in a report earlier this month. These homeowners are eligible for forbearance but have not taken it. This has led to a growing number of homeowners who are delinquent on their mortgages but don’t need to be, the report notes.

HUD stresses that homeowners who can still make their mortgage payments should continue to do so, but there are options for those who can’t. “For those who are struggling right now, we urge them to engage with their servicer immediately,” says Joe Gormley, HUD’s deputy assistant secretary for single-family housing. “And if your servicer contacts you, it is crucial that you respond to them to let them know if you need assistance. The last thing FHA wants is for any homeowner to risk losing their homeownership investment if they are eligible for assistance.”

Real estate professionals can help educate at-risk borrowers about mortgage forbearance options. The National Association of REALTORS® offers at realtorparty.realtor a downloadable brochure called Protect Your Investment that outlines what homeowners should ask lenders about their options and payback requirements when considering forbearance.

You can also direct clients to a video, produced by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and HUD, that helps homeowners understand and explore their options for forbearance. It’s available through HomeownershipMatters.realtor or at the CFPB website.

As for relief efforts in the rental market, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention used its authority in the name of public health in September to place an eviction moratorium to prevent landlords from evicting certain renters nationwide for the remainder of the year. NAR has strongly urged Congress and the Trump administration to approve rental assistance so the moratorium doesn’t lead to a cascading housing crisis in which housing providers face delinquencies and tenants face ever-increasing back payments on rental units. Read more about NAR’s efforts.

Large retail parking lots may not traditionally reap profits, but retail landlords these days are finding new ways to turn those large outdoor areas into something that can.

Shopping malls and parking garages are opening their space to events such as haunted houses, open-air stores, job fairs, drive-through COVID-19 testing, drive-in movies, and even gathering spots for seniors to play bingo from the car. Parking garage owners also are renting their spaces to delivery companies that need to distribute goods bought online.

The repurposed parking lots are bringing in foot traffic and revenue at a time when many brick-and-mortar retailers are struggling.

In Costa Mesa, Calif., a landlord built open-air outdoor luxury boutiques on the second floor of the parking garage at South Coast Plaza. In Roseville, Minn., parking lots are being transformed into drive-through haunted houses, which are offered daily for family entertainment. Flip Phone, the company hosting the event, says so far it has sold nearly 1,000 tickets for $75 per car. The hope is that after families do the drive-through haunted house, they’ll stay and dine or shop at the mall.

Some parking lots are being used to host senior events. Rob Peters Entertainment hosted a music bingo event at a community center parking lot in Hamilton, Mass. As they played bingo from afar, seniors listen to songs from the 1950s and ’60s  from car radios.

Double-digit price increases for homes are not exactly what most people in real estate predicted to occur in a recession. But could low mortgage rates—the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage hit a record-low average of 2.81% last week—be partially to blame?

“The combination of what could be the lowest mortgage rates of our lifetimes, a paucity of inventory, and a desperate rush of buyers has resulted in median home list prices hitting new records,” realtor.com® reports.

Home prices were 12.2% higher for the week ending Oct. 10 than they were a year ago,  realtor.com® data shows.

“It’s unprecedented for us to get a massive run-up in home prices during a recession,” says Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist. “It’s clear that [mortgage] rates matter even more than unemployment rates.”

Low mortgage rates are helping buyers afford higher home prices, and they’re creating a buying frenzy in the housing market to lock in such low rates. Home buyers purchasing a median-priced home at about $350,000 still pay about $80 less than if they purchased a median-priced home of $315,000 last year at a higher interest rate average of 3.69%, a realtor.com® analysis shows.

Affordability goes up with low mortgage rates. However, home buyers do need a higher down payment as prices rise.

High home prices with high mortgage rates, on the other hand, is not a good combo, housing analysts point out. Ali Wolf, chief economist of Zonda, told realtor.com® that if mortgage rates go up by even a half-point, hundreds of thousands of buyers may no longer be able to purchase a home. First-time buyers, who tend to have smaller budgets, likely would experience the biggest repercussion.

But many economists are predicting mortgage rates to stay low in 2021. In the meantime, home prices likely will remain elevated because buyer demand remains high and inventories remain stretched thin.

It’s harder to show your personality when half your face is covered. Masks can conceal your expressions, muffle your speech, and create misunderstandings between you and those you’re talking to. But masks are essential when meeting with clients. “I felt muzzled,” Learka Bosnak, a sales associate with Douglas Elliman of California in Pasadena, Calif., told The Wall Street Journal. “I was constantly running around saying, ‘I’m smiling under here!’ This business is all about rapport, comfort level.”

Etiquette experts say it’s important to smile—even when wearing a mask. Your mouth may be covered, but your smile is still visible in your eyes and audible in your speech, according to a blog post from Debrett’s, a professional etiquette and coaching company based in London.

It’s also important to make eye contact, so take off those sunglasses. “Eye contact will become even more important when we can’t gauge others’ expressions,” Debrett’s says. “Eye contact is the basis of trust, releasing chemicals like oxytocin in the brain.”

Make sure to speak more distinctly, too. You have a mask over your mouth, so your speech is muffled and others are unable to read your lips. Raise your voice and speak clearly, Debrett’s suggests.

Heather T. Roy, a Douglas Elliman agent in Bosnak’s office, recently joined Bosnak to meet with a body language expert and learn tips to apply to their business. One point they appreciated: Watch your body language. “Face the person, and make sure your feet are in the right place,” Bosnak told the Journal. “Otherwise, you are signaling that you are not listening. Now it’s become so rote, I don’t even think about not facing a client when I’m talking to them. If they are behind me and ask a question, I will turn around and look at them.”

Keeping your body language positive and open, such as avoiding slouching or crossing your arms, will help you come across as friendly and approachable, even in a mask.