How to Buy and Sell Homes in the Age of Coronavirus
The Marin market continues to pick up speed with new listings hitting the market and many receiving multiple offers or strong preemptive offers within a week of exposure. We just learned that a hot new listing in Mill Valley listed at $1.7M received 13 offers this week after only 6 days on the market and is selling for more than $250k over asking with 60% of the buyer pool coming from San Francisco.
So, what does this mean for home buyers and sellers?
Buyers
Competition remains strong in Marin as more buyers look to escape the city in search of more space. Today, buying a home looks a lot different than it did pre-COVID and it’s clear that this is our new normal. If you’re shopping for a home, you’ve probably noticed that it’s a lot less casual than it used to be. Pre-COVID, when properties hit the market you could attend open houses, connect with a local agent in-person and freely explore Marin neighborhoods on the weekends. Now that open houses are no longer in existence (for the foreseeable future), buyers are relying on virtual media and property drive-bys to determine interest level before gaining interior access. The good news is that advanced technology makes it possible to give buyers a realistic walkthrough of a home from a safe distance using virtual 3D and video tours.
If a property seems like a good fit, buyers agents can schedule appointments for their buyers to see homes in person and all visitors are required to sign a waiver called the California Association of Realtors Coronavirus Property Entry Advisory & Declaration (PEAD) in advance. Most sellers are now requiring buyers to provide a pre-approval letter or demonstrate proof of funds prior to visiting with the goal of limiting foot traffic to qualified, ready-to-go buyers.
PRO TIPS
Work with a local Realtor
If you’re serious about buying a home in Marin, it’s now more important than ever to work a local Realtor (such as ourselves!). Not only do you need a Realtor to gain interior access to homes but with 20% of the market trading off-market, you’re missing tons of inventory if you’re working with an agent who isn’t actively networking with colleagues in the Marin agent community. So far in 2020, our team has sold 47 homes and 30 (64%) of these were found for our buyers off-market. Take a look at the inventory we’ve sold off-market.
Work with a reputable lender
With interest rates at an all time low and sellers now requiring pre-approvals for property entry, the first step in your home search is to establish a relationship with a local, reputable lender. Why does reputation matter in a mortgage lender, you ask? Put yourself in the shoes of a seller who is being advised by their Marin agent. Now, imagine that you’ve received two nearly identical offers on your home, one with an unknown lender and another with a lender who has a reputation for closing smooth escrows… which offer do you think the listing agent is going to encourage the seller the accept? Yes, it’s rhetorical… you get it.
Sellers
Selling a home in the age of COVID-19 doesn’t look that different for a seller, but you can anticipate additional paperwork to protect yourself from liability as buyers, inspectors, painters and service providers enter your home. In order to promote the health and safety of our community, open houses have been eliminated and showings are by appointment only. All visitors are required to sign a waiver called the California Association of Realtors Coronavirus Property Entry Advisory & Declaration. To reduce foot traffic and eliminate “lookie-loo’s,” sellers have the option to require pre-approvals or verification of funds from buyers for entry.
Lastly, in order to promote the health and safety of every person visiting or occupying the home during the marketing process, we’ve established the below showing policy that we place at all front doors and must be acknowledged and accepted before any visitor is allowed to enter the property.
IS IT A GOOD TIME TO SELL?
In short, yes. With inventory still considerably low for Marin, buyer demand is very high and interest rates are at historic lows which allows active buyers to increase the budget of their home search. Market stats show that turnkey homes in desirable locations are continuing to trade with multiple offers and for well over the asking price. If you're thinking about selling your home, it’s likely in your best interest to get ahead of the influx of inventory before the market becomes more saturated as shelter-in-place rules begin to soften.
Let’s go get your home.
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