Covid-19 Central New York Real Estate Market Info
As of April 1st, Governor Cuomo has classified real estate agents as essential employees with restrictions. This directive is in place until the foreseeable future. What does this mean for you?
If You Are Looking To Buy A Home
- You CAN view homes online and drive by them, but you will not be able to schedule an appointment to see them yourself. We can schedule a virtual tour where I can go to the home and walk you through the home virtually through Facetime, Zoom, Skype, etc. I anticipate that you will see very few new listings coming on the market. Also, there are many sellers that may not be letting anyone in their homes at this point. Don't get discouraged! There will be a backlog of new listings coming on the market once we turn the corner and people feel more comfortable in showing their homes.
- You CAN submit an offer on a home if you are ok with doing so without actually seeing it in person. Home inspections, appraisers, banks, and attorneys are all considered essential services so you can go through the process to closing.
- You CAN get prepared. Contact a lender to get pre-approved for a mortgage. Reach out to me to complete a phone or video consultation to review the process, what you are looking for in a home, etc. This will allow to be ready once the market opens up. There will be a lot of competition, so the more prepared you are, the better off you will be.
If You Are Looking To Sell A Home
- You CAN list your home. There is a caveat to that. An agent can not meet with you in person to see the home or complete the listing paperwork. All of this would need to be done virtually and through electronic signatures. Photographers are not essential services, so professional photos can not be completed. The agent will have to take photos and potentially do a virtual tour that can be posted online. They swon't be nearly as good as professional photos, but it can suffice. Your home can only be shown by the buyer's agent virtually through Zoom, Skype, Facetime, etc to a buyer. It is not ideal to list your home because of these and other reasons, but it can be done if circumstances dictate that you need get it on the market.
- You CAN get prepared to list your home. This really may be the best time to do it if you are stuck at home now. You can contact me to complete a phone or video consultation. We can complete a video tour of the home. I can let you know what you should be doing to prepare, give you an idea of the price that you can expect to get, and what I do to market your home. This will allow to be ready once this shutdown is lifted and the market opens up.
What Will The Impact Be On The Market
There is some uncertainty since we are unsure of how long we will be shut down. I do expect that there will be some buyer and sellers that will no longer be in the market. With that said, there are still very low inventory levels throughout CNY, so that is a positive for sellers and will allow them to get premium prices for their home. Also, interest rates are still historically low, so it is still a great time to buy. You may be paying a premium for a home, but the low interest rates more than offset that premium.
As always, I am here to assist you in any way that I can. If you would like to set up a video consultation or if I can answer any questions, please complete my contact form or call/text me direct at (315)-729-1432.
