Times of volatility create opportunities for investment—it’s true of the stock market and it’s also true of real estate right now.

Rarely was there such a sudden and universal jolt to housing markets in the U.S. as there was last month. In a matter of days, school systems closed, restaurants shuttered and a wave of stay-at-home orders extended from coastal states inward, as lawmakers raced to slow the spread of the coronavirus. Real estate agents called off open houses, sellers yanked listings from the marketplace and many buyers, even in some of the hottest housing markets, such as San Francisco Bay Area, put their house hunts on hold.

Recent directives from U.S. Homeland Security and some states like California clarifying that real estate, like garbage disposal and mail, is an “essential business” during the crisis has shown little sign of spurring agents, and, more importantly, their clients, to risk exposure

Just before the coronavirus pandemic reached America’s shores, the U.S. saw the lowest number of foreclosure filings in over a decade. But the economic downturn the disease outbreak has since caused could lead many Americans into foreclosure, the regulator of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac said.

During an interview with CNBC Wednesday, Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Mark Calabria warned that the U.S. mortgage industry could face significant strain in the form of delinquencies and foreclosures if the coronavirus emergency lasts for six months or longer.

“This fundamentally comes down to how long an event this is,” Calabria said.

“If this only goes on for two to three months and we see pop back in the economy and people are hired back to their old jobs by and large, then I think this will be something the industry can get through without too much stress,” he added. “But if this