VB Realty Group

Buying or Selling a House During the Coronavirus Shutdown: Should you try?

Posted on April 11, 2020 by Brenda Trigo

Good news: California, unlike some other states, has classified real estate as an essential service during the shutdown. And while we all know that the economy is taking a huge hit (bad), we know mortgage rates remain for the moment at historic lows (good).

Reasons to buy a home now: if you have a secure job, you may get a good deal on a property and capture today’s low mortgage rates.

Reasons to sell your home now: there will be fewer houses on the market. Translation: less competition. Your house will get more attention, and you may get a better offer than you expected, even if—due to the virus–you can’t show the house in person.

Sellers, bear these points in mind:

Talk to your realtor about how we are using today’s technology to avoid in-person activities (read my Apr. 10 Blog Post for more about this).
Ask your realtor about getting videos taken (by you or a professional) that shows your home off at its best (staged), virtually.
Getting 3-dimensional interactive scans of your staged house will up your game dramatically. (You’ve probably seen examples of 3-D room-scans, but google it if you haven’t; talk to me about securing a professional who can do one for you.)
Bear in mind that current restrictions regarding support-workers in the industry (loan officers, appraisers, inspectors, title companies, accountants) may slow the progress slightly. But their work can and will get done.

Although the effect may be different in the United States, studies made on the effects of pandemics in Asia (SARS outbreak in Hong Kong, plus how China’s housing market has reacted to COVID-19 beginning in January) revealed that the quantity of homes on the market fell steeply. Sellers wanted to avoid exposure to the virus. However, because of the limited inventory, prices fell little in China, and kept steady in Hong Kong.

If your goal is to take advantage of low mortgage rates—and this is important for sellers as well as buyers—you ought to take action soon. The Federal Reserve has already indicated that rates will continue increasing. The long-standing lows won’t last much longer.

And if you must interact personally, do the obvious: wear gloves, limit your touching of surfaces, and maintain social distance from others. VB Realty is among the top So Cal realtors with sales in Long Beach, Seal Beach, San Diego, and other cities. Sell your home fast with us and learn our home selling / house staging tips.

To read the complete article by Dana George, visit:

https://www.fool.com/the-ascent/mortgages/articles/coronavirus-housing-market/