DIGGS June Town Hall Meeting

How do you see homes for sale in a COVID world?

Everything has changed… but it’s not difficult once you get the hang of it. ⁠ ⁠

Here is the recording for our June Live and Interactive Town Hall meeting. In this fast-paced information-packed session you’ll get a quick update on how the economy is doing and where the housing market is going, an update on current interest rates, and a simple plan on how to shop for homes in a COVID world –  safely.

Oscar Wei, Senior Economist for the CA Association of Realtors joins us for a quick update on our economy and how it impacts the housing market and Shea Case from House Financial brings us up to speed on today’s rates and issues (or lack of issues!)

Don’t have time to view the entire meeting? Scroll down to the Show Notes!

BONUS DOWNLOAD: Oscar Wei’s Slide Deck

DIGGS Town Hall Meeting Show Notes:

Mortgage Rate Update: Shea Case – House America Financial

Rates are super low. 30 Yr. Fixed is around 3%. It seems like there is nothing to wait for at it feels like a great time to buy.

Self Employed people might have difficulty – you need to be able to show income right now, even if you had nothing coming in during March and April.

Rates are a lot lower than they were at the beginning of the year. This means today’s buyers can afford to be more aggressive with their purchase price!

The process is efficient right now despite the volume of refinancing applications in the pipeline – but it is critical to have a team that knows what they are doing.

Economic Update: Oscar Wei, Senior Economist with the California Association of Realtors

Coronavirus Update: new cases and deaths are on the upswing (spike)

Retail sales shot up dramatically once the state reopened. We are still down by six or seven percent below last year in May.

Joblessness is declining, but not fast enough. We are still about 20 million unemployed. At our peak, we were close to 30miillion, but DANG, it’s still significant. It is 13% – 14% now vs. 3% at the beginning of the year.

Home sales are down over 41% (number of transactions) vs last year. Prices are down a little bit, but not very much maybe 4% overall.

Our inventory is very tight, but enough homes came on the market that our pending sales volume spiked 67%  (May vs April). This gives us cause for optimism for the coming months.

It looks like the pending sales prices might be going up slightly! The reason is partly due to a very small supply, active listings are down 34% over last year (and far more dramatic in some of DIGGS areas. Mortgage rates also have a lot to do with the strong sales demand. A mortgage payment is 13.2% lower than they were for the SAME house last year.

FORECAST – in a survey of major banks the forecast is a down year, GDP falling 5% – 6% decline.

HOUSING FORECAST – a decline of 13 – 14 % on number of sales. Price – we might see a small decline in prices, but we will bounce back in 2021. It also appears that we are at the bottom and already experiencing a sharp increase in activity. We will be back to “normal” prices by May 2021 or earlier.

INTEREST RATES – The recession is global. This means interest rates are not going to go anywhere anytime soon.

REAL ESTATE UPDATE: Kendyl Young, Broker at DIGGS

Local Housing Market Update

Glendale, La Crescenta, and Pasadena – activity is trending up, with more listings and new escrows. Northeast Los Angeles listing activity plummets after a steep increase in April to Mid-May. Proving that the high end and the low end are performing the best, La Canada and Sunland-Tujunga homes sales are rapidly trending toward matching last year’s numbers. Every other town I track is 30% – 60% lower than this time last year.

BONUS READ: My Coronavirus MLS Tracker

How To Show a Home in a COVID World

Seeing a home is a lot less convenient than it was in a pre-COVID world. However, the process is simple if you just keep in mind a few rules (and laws)

Rules and Regulations for Seeing Homes in a COVID World

1. There are NO OPEN HOUSES and it doesn’t look like we will do them like we did pre-COVID anytime soon.
2. No more than 2 people plus the buyer’s agent should visit a home at one time
3. Visitor must
   1. Sign a disclosure about the Coronavirus (P.E.A.D.)
   2. Wear a Mask
   3. Touch as little as possible
   4. Wash hands or use hand sanitizer
4. In addition, some agents are requiring a pre-approval before showing

Best Practices for Seeing Homes in a COVID World

1. Use all the online and digital tools available to eliminate homes from your list
   1. Review photos, videos and 3D scans of the home’s interior.
   2. Check out the satellite view to identify neighborhood problems like major noise features or significant power lines
   3. Use Google Maps to “walk” through the neighborhood.
2. If you have trusted advisors – be prepared to show them the home via FaceTime when you visit the home.
3. Learn how to use a digital eSignature product on your phone. That way you can sign the PEAD disclosure on the fly.
4. Take photos and look carefully. You may not get another chance to see the home before making an offer.

Ready To See Glendale Homes For Sale?

Check out the DIGGS Cool Home Collections – hand-selected homes from across the internet. Only the Coolest Homes make the cut!!

CLICK- DIGGS COOL HOME COLLECTIONS