You Might Have Guessed What The Most Commonly Asked Question In Sacramento Real Estate Is Right Now.
A normal day for this Sacramento Real Estate Agent starts with coffee, bible and looking over about a dozen or so emails that came in overnight from prospective buyers, sellers and current clients. Oh, and lot’s of junk mail. It’s like the “unsubscribe” button at the bottom of the spam email gets sticky after a while. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. WD 40 is a beautiful thing, but I imagine my computer would die a quick death if I went at it like it was a squeky door hinge. Anyway, after the routine house cleaning of clearing out the mess that is a busy Realtor’s morning inbox, I get to the good stuff; client needs and leads!
Now if you have been reading the news articles and watching the media performances on the TV, you would think that the sky is falling in Sacramento residential real estate. Quite the opposite. Our clients are well informed through our monthly market updates and regular home valuations and know that inventory is tighter than ever and homes are selling faster than they ever have.
One of the first things I mention to folks that contacts our team asking “Are home showings allowed during the lockdown?” is that they absolutely are! Real estate was deemed an Essential Business early on in this pandemic. Even before it was officially announced, the federal government showed us all that real estate is essential by immediately setting up a system to buy billions in mortgage-backed-securities. It was almost the first thing the Feds did when this coronavirus went on tour of destruction. You don’t spend billions of dollars on something if it is not important.
Other things to consider when asking “Are home showings allowed during the lockdown?” is that although we can enter homes, we are required to wear face coverings that cover our nose and mouth, wear gloves and wear shoe coverings. Agents also need to wipe down parts of the home that were touched during the showing such as doorknobs and light switches. Showings are allowed on vacant homes and properties that are occupied, but only two buyers and their agent are allowed in the home at a time. If there are more than 2 people in the buying party, they would need to take turns and wait outside or in the car.
Showings are allowed during the lockdown and dedicated agents will even go out and film the inside of multiple homes for you and send you high quality, slow moving videos for review. Emphasis on slow-moving. You ever try to watch a video when someone is turning around too fast. The frame rates on these phones are not the best and so much detail is lost. My advice for Realtors offering this service for their clients is to be like Spielberg. Make your virtual showing epic! Everything matters my friends.
