Charlottesville, VA (CVILLE RIGHT NOW) – This week marks five years since the COVID-19 lockdowns began, a time that brought abrupt changes to daily life and the real estate industry. Quinton Beckham, principal broker and owner at KW Alliance, joined Cville Right Now Live to reflect on those early days and how the pandemic reshaped everyday life. “I have this really specific memory,” Beckham recalled. “We sort of knew the lockdown was coming, and I hosted the last big in-person group poker game. Eight of us all together, we had windows open, hand sanitizer out… That was the last big gathering for years.”

As industries scrambled to adapt, real estate professionals faced unique challenges. Beckham described the rapid shift in the housing market, saying, “While at the same time trying to keep businesses running and agents selling houses so that they could put food on the table, and really having to navigate that and change quickly with a world that was changing and a little bit frightened.”

Even now, Beckham sees lasting effects on consumer behavior. “We’ve seen how that experience of being locked down has created behaviors that have lived past the pandemic,” he said. “I think of the number of restaurants that have closed, and I think back pre-pandemic to today and I’m certainly going out a lot less than I used to.” As home buying patterns continue to shift and remote work remains a factor, the real estate industry continues to evolve in ways few could have predicted five years ago.

Listen here for the full conversation: