House-Hunting During the Coronavirus Pandemic
Photo by Ramin Rahimian
[This post was written before the Shelter in Place order was imposed on March 16, 2020]
We’re certainly living through a scary time. All of our normal daily lives have screeched to a halt, from working remotely to not attending get-togethers to not shaking a new friend’s hand. We’re all on high alert and for those of you who are in the middle of house-hunting, you’re probably wondering exactly how to proceed with your search.
We’re certainly living through a scary time. All of our normal daily lives have screeched to a halt, from working remotely to not attending get-togethers to not shaking a new friend’s hand. We’re all on high alert and for those of you who are in the middle of house-hunting, you’re probably wondering exactly how to proceed with your search.
Should you still go to open houses? Should you attend showings with your agent? Should you just look online? In real estate, we should apply the general guidelines set forth by the experts - social distancing, washing hands, and staying home when we are displaying any symptoms of the illness. According to the World Health Organization’s website, symptoms of the Coronavirus include “respiratory symptoms, fever, cough, shortness of breath and breathing difficulties.”
If you are feeling any of these symptoms, be sure to get tested and be careful not to attend any open houses or go to any showings. At the same time, if you are NOT feeling ill and you do decide to attend an open house, make sure you keep some distance between you and other open house attendees and agents. Here are the guidelines set forth by the National Association of Realtors® for agents who choose to hold open houses for their listings:
“If you do hold an open house, consider requiring all visitors to disinfect their hands upon entering the home, and provide alcohol-based hand sanitizers at the entryway, as well as soap and disposable towels in bathrooms.”
NAR is also encouraging agents to hold virtual tours of homes and create videos for buyers. We, as agents, are doing exactly that, while also being extremely careful ourselves to sanitize our hands after previewing each home in person.
The best thing buyers can do is continue the home search online. Homes are still coming on the market as we’ve seen 16 new properties hit the market in Marin County, CA since the president officially declared a National Emergency, according to BAREIS MLS statistics. Check your listing alerts and ask your agent for a video! If you’re super interested after the video tour, then set up a private showing or attend an open house while still making sure to keep some distance between you and other people. If you can leave kids at home, do so. It’s more chaotic and harder to keep watch over the spread of germs when you’re chasing kids around a home.
The good news is you might be able to find yourself in a less competitive offer situation as many buyers will likely take a break from their home search during this time. We are all for continuing business as usual in the most cautious and responsible manner! Working together to keep the economy running is of the utmost importance as we battle not only a deadly virus, but the effects of widespread panic.
If you’re searching for a home in Marin County, please reach out to us directly. We will preview homes for you, create videos, Facetime live, set you up on automated listing alerts, and hold your hand through the process, especially during these uncertain times!
Thorne Home Team
Naomi Thorne & Katherine Thorne
Coldwell Banker Realty
511 Sir Francis Drake Blvd
Greenbrae, CA 94904
415.559.5280
naomi.thorne@cbnorcal.com
katherine.thorne@cbnorcal.com
hometeammarin.com
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