Buying or Selling Your Home During a Pandemic

While the COVID19 pandemic has created a stand-still for many businesses, our real estate market here in Portland continues to move and thrive. Meanwhile, we are taking extra steps to ensure the safety of our buyers and sellers who have entered the market. Read on to learn more!

Our local market.

When our city and state were met with shutdowns and stay-at-home orders, there was a lot of uncertainty about how the real estate market would fare, and while there was a slight pause for about a week, our local Portland market has been full speed ahead ever since.

Here are a few key takeaways concerning our local market:

1.       Our local market was minimally impacted by the virus.

2.       Inventory is low, so homes are moving quickly. It is a great time for sellers to maximize profit.

3.       Buyer demand is strong across multiple price points and locations.

4.       Interest rates are low – and are expected to remain so.

While economic recovery from this pandemic will take time, we have a really positive outlook on things moving forward, with no hidden gloom on the horizon, so long as inventory and interest rates remain low, and our local unemployment rate is kept to a minimum.

What does that mean for you? Well, if you’re interested in buying or selling, it could mean that now is a great time to explore your options – in spite of worries or fears related to the coronavirus. In fact, we have made adjustments and changes to how we help our buyers and sellers in order to mitigate any risk of potential exposure.

We’ve made some tech advancements.

For every property listing, we are providing Matterport 360-degree/Virtual Tours. These virtual tours can be used when in-person showings are not possible, or as a preliminary step for narrowing down your home search. They are clickable and interactive, making for a near-virtual reality home viewing experience.

In addition to Matterport, we have also held Virtual Open Houses, allowing us to walk through a property with you, explaining features and finishes as we go. These are both great ways to get a feel for a property prior to setting up a private showing.

We host “no-touch” showings.

The safety of our buyers and sellers is extremely important to us, so we have been taking precautions to encourage “no-touch” showings. Before you arrive for your tour of a property, we will go through and turn on lights, as well as open doors, cabinets, and closets to allow you to get a full picture of the space without having to touch surfaces. We also provide and encourage hand sanitizer use if you do touch any surfaces, such as handrails or counter tops.

We wear our masks.

Masks and cloth face coverings have been reported to help limit the transfer of airborne pathogens, and we wear them at every showing – so you can expect to get very familiar with our foreheads! Throughout every step of the purchase and sale process, masks will be worn – during showings, inspections, appraisals, and signings.

As you go through the process of physically moving into your new space, if you will be hiring movers, we suggest that you ask them about any and all precautions that they plan to take on moving day, including their own use of masks and gloves prior to coming into contact with your belongings.

It’s a simple step that can make a big difference.

We recommend sanitizing your space.

When listing your home for sale and accepting showing appointments, you should be regularly sanitizing your space. From doorknobs and handrails to light switches and kitchen counter tops, focus on surfaces that are commonly touched to minimize any risk of the spread of bacteria or viruses.

Similarly, when you move into your new home, take some time to clean and sanitize. If you are unable to do so yourself, let us know! We can make a recommendation for a cleaning service so your home is clean, comfortable and safe prior to move-in.

We want to know how you’re doing.

We know that this is unfamiliar (and therefore, uncomfortable) territory for many of us – and that’s ok! We are here to make you as comfortable as possible throughout the buying and/or selling process – whether that is through the use of technology and virtual showings vs. in-person showings, or by creating a process that allows you to remain touch-free and socially distant throughout. Let us know if you have any worries or concerns and we will work together to figure it out.

We are here for you.

We know that there is a lot of uncertainty in our world right now, but we want to reassure you that we will always do everything in our power to keep you and yours informed, comfortable, and safe.

If you have any questions about buying or selling your home, as well as our process of doing so during the COVID19 pandemic, we are here for you! Give us a all any time and we would be happy to help.