Real Estate Guidance During Stay Home, Stay Healthy
As your trusted real estate advisor, it’s critical for me to offer creative solutions to continue serving my clients while protecting the health and well-being of our community. As of March 27th, Govenor Jay Inslee deemed real estate as an essential service, allowing the industry to continue working but with modifications in place that adhere to social distancing guidelines.
What does selling and buying look like during the Stay Home, Stay Healthy order?
While open houses are not allowed, there are still many ways home buyers can narrow down the process. I’ve been creating Matterports for active listings, that bring a home to life with a 3D tour. 3D tours, photos, property videos, and floor plans are all extremely effective ways to virtually find the home you’re looking for. When it comes down the the remaining home or two, in-person tours are still allowed. Home tours can be arranged by appointment but are limited to no more than two people on site at any one time, exercising social distancing at all times.
To that end, it is permissible to engage in real estate sales, as appraisers, settlement agents and escrow officers, property inspectors, mortgage loan originators, processors, and underwriters, and other necessary office personnel including IT professionals, and back office staff necessary to maintain office operations. This also includes those government workers necessary to review real estate excise tax and record documents ensuring a transaction can still happen without a hitch. Each party of the home buying process has found unique ways modify their services to meet current needs. For an even deeper look at modifications for the real estate industry, please find this memo written by the Northwest Multiple Listing Service.
Our region has continued to see low-inventory and this has put sellers at an advantage. Buyer demand may have slowed down in light of the current situation, but people still need to move and people still need homes. Lysa Catlin with Caliber Home Loans recently spoke with Realogics Sotheby’s International Realty about the opportunities in the current market. She stressed the importance to work with an experienced agent stating, “Locally, while so many people are affected by COVID-19, we also have such a large percentage of people who are able to continue working from home, and from them, we’re seeing an uptick in (home) purchases. They’re seeing this as an opportunity.”
In the beginning of March, the Northwest Multiple Listing Service released February’s Market Snapshot which provides a comprehensive look at the month’s real estate activity. In February, available inventory was at 1.45, meaning it would only take 1.45 months for current inventory to be sold. A balanced market, is typically between 4-6 months of inventory which indicates that most buyers are moving quick on the homes they want to purchase. For a full look, please find the PDF available for download here.
Please reach out to me with any questions about real estate or to learn how I can help you achieve your real estate needs—I’m here to help!