The last recession was caused in large part by the implosion of the housing market, so the housing market being as it was is no surprise. This time we're not looking at a housing-related trigger, so I don't see why housing ought to be affected any more than usual during a recession. I'd be interested to know what that "usual" amount is though if any data exist. I haven't done any research on that yet myself.
Well people are social distancing. It hasn't been fully internalized by some people, but this is the new norm for awhile. Once it hits people, no one is going to allow strangers to walk through their house, and buyers aren't going to want to parade through a bunch of different strangers houses either. Also no one is going to have jobs or money to be buying houses. I've been brought into the fold somewhat at my current company, and it's pretty fucking grim. The workers don't know it, but I'm pretty sure close to half of them are losing their jobs in the coming weeks/months no matter how this thing plays out, and I can't imagine this is the only company facing a crunch. This is going to have long lasting repercussions that affect the economy and every person in it. Much like the great financial recession there is going to be a domino effect that reaches every aspect of the economy.
I've been relentlessly optimistic about this. Initially thinking this was no big deal and less of a concern than the flu, and that this entire thing would blow over. Swine flu, SARS, etc, never affected my life in the slightest. If it wasn't for media hype I wouldn't even have been aware of those diseases. I thought this was going to be the same deal. Much ado about nothing, some people get sick, some people will die, but it would be paltry in comparison to things like the regular flu, car accidents, and people just dying from old age. And life would move on, we'd all be laughing it up with our stock winnings in 3 months. I no longer think that's the case. Shit is getting very real, very fast.
Being completely unironic: Fear is back.