COVID-19 Guidance and Information
May 25, 2021 - Important Updates on Our Response to COVID-19
As the scope and impact of coronavirus (COVID-19) continue to evolve, The Masiello Group remains focused on providing you and our communities with home buying and selling services, commercial real estate services, and home title services. Our top priority continues to be the health and safety of our customers, employees, and agents. We are closely monitoring the situation and reacting quickly to changing circumstances, and we will continue to update you with the latest information.
Face masks/face coverings for employees and customers:
According to CDC guidelines, facemasks are now optional in our offices, except in those states and towns where local law or ordinance requires mask usage. This change is taking place immediately in Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine.
Safety and Product Updates:
The Masiello Group has taken extensive steps to ensure our customers, employees and agents are safe during this health crisis. This work is guided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's science-based recommendations and updated as new information and guidance are provided.
These measures include:
Customer health and safety
- We will wear masks upon request and will provide free masks for anyone who needs them.
- Our offices follow CDC guidance to establish cleaning, sanitation, and disinfection processes including a focus on high-touch surfaces. After each meeting, we disinfect the area.
- For every engagement, we will ask our customers their masking preference and will comply.
Employee and Agent health and safety
- Masks are available in all office locations.
- Masks are no longer required for showings and open houses, but if a seller chooses to require any safety protocols or restrictions for showings in their home we will comply and ensure all visitors to the home are treated equally. A buyer who is a member of a protected class may request an accommodation for a showing in accordance with fair housing laws.
We continue to monitor and comply with state and local ordinances.
Is Your Home Currently on the Market (or are you considering selling)?
Following the guidance of our local and national experts, we have suspended the practice of traditional open houses for the time being. However, we remain as committed as ever to show your home to prospective buyers. We have implemented creative solutions such as virtual (live streaming) open houses and automated video walkthroughs. When we have a buyer that wants to walk through personally, we have adopted the following best practices during showings* to ensure that your home remains as safe as possible:
- We confirm that all visitors are not feeling sick or displaying signs of illness
- We request that all visitors to remove shoes
- We request that all visitors wash hands with soap and water upon entering (or use hand sanitizer and/or gloves, if available)
- We request that only decision-makers attend the showing
- We request that visitors look, but not touch anything in the home. If a buyer requests cabinets, drawers or doors to be opened, the agent will do so while wearing gloves
- We request that all parties maintain the recommended social distance of 6 feet whenever possible
- When we leave the house, we will leave you a note explaining how many visitors have been in the home and what precautions were taken
If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact your agent. If you're not currently working with an agent, click here to contact us, and we will return your message as quickly as possible.
Thinking of Selling Your House? Now May be the Right Time
Inventory is arguably the biggest challenge for buyers in today’s housing market. There are simply more buyers actively looking for homes to purchase than there are sellers selling them, so the scale is tipped in favor of the sellers.
According to the latest Existing Home Sales Report from the National Association of Realtors (NAR), total housing inventory is down 18.8% from one year ago. Inventory is well below what was available last year, and the houses that do come to the market are selling very quickly.
Buying or Selling a Home? You Need an Expert Kind of Guide
In a normal housing market, whether you're buying or selling a home, you need an experienced guide to help you navigate through the process. You need someone you can turn to who will tell you how to price your home correctly right from the start. You need someone who can help you determine what to offer on your dream home without paying too much or offending the seller with a low-ball offer.
We are, however, in anything but a normal market right now.
Why Home Equity Is a Bright Spark in the Housing Market
Given how we have seen more unemployment claims than ever before over the past several weeks, fear is spreading widely. Some good news, however, shows that more than 4 million initial unemployment filers have likely already found a new job, especially as industries such as health care, food and grocery stores, retail, delivery, and more increase their employment opportunities. Breaking down what unemployment means for homeownership, and understanding the significant equity Americans hold today, are important parts of seeing the picture clearly when sorting through this uncertainty.
One of the biggest questions right now is whether this historic unemployment rate will initiate a new surge of foreclosures in the market. It's a very real fear. Despite the staggering number of claims, there are actually many reasons why we won't see a significant number of foreclosures like we did during the housing crash twelve years ago. The amount of equity homeowners have today is a leading differentiator in the current market.
What if I need to sell my home right now? What can I do?
Every day that passes, people have a need to buy and sell homes. That doesn't stop during the current pandemic. If you've had a major life change recently, whether with your job or your family situation, you may be in a position where you need to sell your home – and fast. While you probably feel like timing with the current pandemic isn't on your side, making a move is still possible. Rest assured, with technology at your side and fewer sellers on the market in most areas, you can list your house and make it happen safely and effectively, especially when following the current COVID-19 guidelines set forth.
Confused About the Economic Recovery? Here’s Why.
As we continue to work through the health crisis that plagues this country, more and more conversations are turning to economic recovery. While we look for signs that we've reached a plateau in cases of COVID-19, the concern and fear of what will happen as businesses open up again is on all of our minds. This causes confusion about what an economic recovery will look like. With this in mind, it's important to understand how economists are using three types of sciences to formulate their forecasts and to work toward clearer answers.
Buying a Home Right Now -- Is it Easy? No.
Is it Smart - Yes!
Through all the volatility in the economy right now, some have put their search for a home on hold, yet others have not. According to ShowingTime, the real estate industry's leading showing management technology provider, buyers have started to reappear over the last several weeks. In the latest report, they revealed:
“The March ShowingTime Showing Index® recorded the first nationwide drop in showing traffic in eight months as communities responded to COVID-19. Early April data show signs of an upswing, however.”
Why would people be setting appointments to look at prospective homes when the process of purchasing a home has become more difficult with shelter-in-place orders throughout the country?
Here are three reasons for this uptick in activity:
What Impact Might COVID-19 Have on Home Values?
A big challenge facing the housing industry is determining what impact the current pandemic may have on home values. Some buyers are hoping for major price reductions because the health crisis is straining the economy.
The price of any item, however, is determined by supply and demand, which is how many items are available in relation to how many consumers want to buy that item.
The Pain of Unemployment: It Will Be Deep, But Not for Long
There are two crises in this country right now: a health crisis that has forced everyone into their homes and a financial crisis caused by our inability to move around as we normally would. Over 20 million people in the U.S. became instantly unemployed when it was determined that the only way to defeat this horrific virus was to shut down businesses across the nation. One second a person was gainfully employed, a switch was turned, and then the room went dark on their livelihood.
The financial pain so many families are facing right now is deep.
How deep will the pain cut?
Think This Is a Housing Crisis? Experts Say No.
With all of the unanswered questions caused by COVID-19 and the economic slowdown we're experiencing across the country today, many are asking if the housing market is in trouble. For those who remember 2008, it's logical to ask that question.
Many of us experienced financial hardships, lost homes, and were out of work during the Great Recession – the recession that started with a housing and mortgage crisis. Today, we face a very different challenge: an external health crisis that has caused a pause in much of the economy and a major shutdown of many parts of the country.
Recession? Yes. Housing Crash? No.
With over 90% of Americans now under a shelter-in-place order, many experts are warning that the American economy is heading toward a recession, if it’s not in one already. What does that mean to the residential real estate market?
The Economic Impact of Buying a Home
We're in a changing real estate market, and life, in general, is changing too – from how we grocery shop and meal prep to the ways we can interact with our friends and neighbors. Even practices for engaging with agents, lenders, and all of the players involved in a real estate transaction are changing to a virtual format. What isn't changing, however, is one key thing that can drive the local economy: buying a home.
Why the Stock Market Correction Probably Won't Impact Home Values
With the housing crash of 2006-2008 still visible in the rear-view mirror, many are concerned the current correction in the stock market is a sign that home values are also about to tumble. What's taking place today, however, is nothing like what happened the last time. The S&P 500 did fall by over fifty percent from October 2007 to March 2009, and home values did depreciate in 2007, 2008, and 2009 – but that was...
Economic Slowdown: What the Experts Are Saying
More and more economists are predicting a recession is imminent as the result of the pullback in the economy caused by COVID-19. According to the National Bureau of Economic Research:
"A recession is a significant decline in economic activity spread across the economy, lasting more than a few months, normally visible in real GDP, real income, employment, industrial production, and wholesale-retail sales."
Bill McBride, the founder...
Three Reasons Why This Is Not a Housing Crisis
In times of uncertainty, one of the best things we can do to ease our fears is to educate ourselves with research, facts, and data. Digging into past experiences by reviewing historical trends and understanding the peaks and valleys of what’s come before us is one of the many ways we can confidently evaluate any situation. With concerns of a global recession on everyone’s minds today, it’s important to take an objective look at what has transpired over the years and how the housing market has successfully weathered these storms.
Impact of the Coronavirus on the U.S. Housing Market
The Coronavirus (COVID-19) has caused massive global uncertainty, including a U.S. stock market correction no one could have seen coming. While much of the news has been about the effect on various markets, let’s also acknowledge the true impact it continues to have on lives and families around the world.
With all this uncertainty, how do you make powerful and confident decisions in regard to your real estate plans?
Helpful links:
- Centers for Disease Control: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-nCoV/index.html
- World Health Organization: https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019
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