Public Service Announcement: Wash Your Hands! :-)
Now, back to COVID-19, several folks have asked me if it is impacting our local real estate market.
So far, it seems maybe not, for most folks?
- Houses keep coming on the market -- eight yesterday in Harrisonburg and Rockingham County -- which is typical for this time of year.
- Many new listings are seeing lots of showings -- I speak from personal experience as it pertains to some of my listings, and from talking to other agents.
- Many new listings are still going under contract quickly.
So, amidst some rapidly changing times, with many folks working from home and with schools, movie theaters and many businesses closed, it seems that many sellers are still willing to sell and many buyers still want to buy.
A few notes, though...
- If you an older adult (I'll let you define that) or have a compromised immune system we'll want to talk about how listing your home - and having many people come through it and touch things - could impact you.
- If your house is on the market you should plan to clean high touch surfaces such as door knobs when you return home after a showing. This is also a great time to have all of the lights turned on before a showing - and to ask buyers to just leave them on so they don't have to touch every light switch in your house.
- If you are a buyer looking to buy, I don't think you need to feel overly terrible about going out in public to view a new listing that just hit the market. It will be a decidedly small group gathering and we can keep our distance as we walk through a property together.
- Interest rates are bananas right now - super low - for mortgages, so if you happen to be buying right now, you'll be able to enjoy a ridiculously low fixed interest rate for many years to come, partly because of the economic impacts of COVID-19.
- Income is the basis for most buyers being able to obtain a mortgage to buy a home, so certainly, if your income is or might become interrupted because of everything that is happening right now, then we might want to pause on the home search until we see how quickly things return to "normal" in your work life.
- You'll have to forgive me for not giving you a hearty handshake or warm embrace when we meet to discuss your real estate needs. ;-)
One last note -- all I'm pointing out above is that so far, things seem to be continuing on at a relatively normal clip in the local real estate market. That said, I do recognize that many folks may be seeing significant changes in their lives, their work, their small businesses, their income, etc. So -- two things I'm not saying...
- I am not saying that our local real estate market will not see any impact at all from COVID-19. We just don't seem to be seeing much of an impact at this point.
- I am not saying that all local home buyers and home sellers and home owners are not being impacted by COVID-19. I am certain that some are, and I am happy to chat with you about how to work through any challenges that the last few weeks have introduced into your world as it relates to buying, selling or keeping on with owning your current home.
If you have further questions about all of this -- or thoughts, comments or suggestions -- drop me a line at
scott@hhtdy.com.
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