The Real Estate Corner with Rick Seese: Work Resumes

The following, including photos, has been submitted by Rick Seese.

After 30 years of real estate management and teaching the business to hundreds of agents, I now focus solely on helping my clients buy and sell homes.  But now I also have time to share my experiences and knowledge with you, the readers of Lowell’s First Look, on a monthly basis.  I invite your ongoing questions, whether you are planning on purchasing your very first home or your next home, or your last home.  Just email me your questions at [email protected].

The Coronavirus real estate related information continues to change.  Executive Order 20-70 issued Friday, May 1st, with an effective date of May 7th, allowed for a variety of workers to go back to work.  This includes workers in the real-estate industry.  While there are guidelines to follow, we are excited that the industry can begin working toward norms that we are all familiar with.  I will review the directions attached to the new order and a list of Best Practices moving forward, as we still need to practice safety for buyers and sellers and ourselves.  The ability to begin to re-engage in our business is good news, but please remember this is not yet ‘business-as-usual’.  It comes with great responsibility and requires us to do so with caution.  As one of the very few service industries that has been permitted to re-engage with indoor activities, we will be watched closely.  Any increase in reported infections, could shut real estate and other industries right back down again.  Realtors are being asked to re-engage by following proper protocols and be respectful of each other and of sellers who may put higher restrictions in place as a condition of showing their property.

As of last Thursday, the Michigan Stay-At-Home order was extended until May 28, but manufacturing reopens Monday, May 11.  In order for manufacturing to resume, businesses must adopt measures to protect their workers from the spread of the COVID-19 virus. Examples given by the state include conducting a daily entry screening protocol for workers and everyone else entering the facility. This includes a questionnaire covering symptoms and exposure to people with possible COVID-19, together with a temperature screening as soon as no-touch thermometers can be obtained. They must also create dedicated entry points at every facility and suspend entry of all non-essential in-person visits, including tours, according to a press release from the state.  The order also allows the state’s large auto manufacturers to reopen May 18.

HERE ARE THE CHANGES AND BEST PRACTICES THAT ARE ALLOWING REALTORS TO RESUME SHOWINGS AND FACE TO FACE APPOINTMENTS WITH CLIENTS:

HOME SHOWINGS (NON-TENANT OCCUPIED DWELLINGS ONLY)

  1. Confirm that neither the buyer or seller have any symptoms of illness or Covid-19. (Yes, we have forms for this, as stated above)
  2. All parties should wear a mask or face covering, plus wash their hands before and after.
  3. Follow the CDC/Michigan safety recommendations.
  4. Ask the seller to open all doors in spaces that should be seen by buyers, prior to the showing.
  5. Communicate in advance and on-site, the required safety precautions everyone must observe during the showing.
  6. No more than 4 people may be in the home at a time, with all parties remaining at least 6 feet apart from each other (that means no handshaking).
  7. Home seller or agent must disinfect all doorknobs, door handles and surfaces prior to and following showings.
  8. Showings, inspections, appraisals, photography or videography, or final walkthroughs must be performed by appointment only.

All real estate licensees should continue to work remotely to the greatest extent possible, conducting in-person meetings only when necessary.   

ADDITIONAL INDUSTRY SAFETY PROCLOMATIONS

  1. No real estate in-person open house events are permitted.
  2. Consider limiting in-person showings to potential buyers who have been pre-approved for financing or have provided proof of funds adequate for purchase.
  3. Avoid overlapping appointments.
  4. Ask sellers to turn on all the lights and leave interior doors, drapes and blinds open.
  5. Agents conducting showings should meet their clients at the home, rather than drive clients to showings.
  6. When meeting buyers at a home, ask them to wait in the car for agent’s arrival and initial prepping of the home for buyers to enter.
  7. Ask buyers and showing agents to refrain from touching any surface in a home. Carry disinfecting wipes and encourage the use of gloves, masks, and booties.
  8. Do not share phones, pens or tablets.
  9. After the showing, rather than discussing the home while inside or outside the property, consider waiting to discuss the home via email or phone.

 

SELLER’S RIGHTS MUST BE ADHERED TO

We believe that there are some sellers who might require more Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) than others, which is their individual choice. It is also possible that the PPE required will be different for an occupied property vs. a vacant property.  It is, therefore, incumbent upon the listing agent to have the conversation with the seller as to what will be required to show the property; i.e. masks, gloves, hand sanitizer, shoe covers, etc.  The listing agent shall place these PPE instructions in the showing instructions. As the showing agent, you are required to communicate these requirements to the buyer and ensure that all parties accessing the property have conformed to the sellers’ conditions. Keep in mind that it would not be unusual or out of the question for sellers to have video monitoring during showings to observe if and how well buyers and agents are following safety guidelines in their home.  There will be many sellers that are further compromised by age and other medical factors that are relying on all of us to follow their directions.  Their well-being may depend on it.

NEW HOME CONSTRUCTION

Michigan’s construction industry is also back open, effective Thursday, May 7.

According to the Michigan amendment for new construction, workers in the construction industry, including plumbers, electricians, HVAC technicians, etc., may resume work provided they practice Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and Prevention-mandated safety guidelines, such as staying 6 feet away from others and wearing of proper PPE, as well as develop a COVID-19 preparedness and response plan.

Construction companies must also restrict the number of workers on a premise, promote remote work to the fullest extent possible and prevent workers from entering a premise if they show respiratory symptoms or have had contact with a person who tested positive for COVID-19.

New construction guidelines will follow the same public interaction safety procedures.  Showings, inspections, appraisals, photography or videography, or final walkthroughs must be performed by appointment and must be limited to no more than four people on the premise at any one time. No in-person open houses are permitted.

WEST MICHIGAN MARKET AND MILLENNIALS

In 2019, the Millennial population—those born between 1981 and 1996—became the largest living generation in the U.S.  Last year, there were 72.1 million millennials compared to 71.6 million baby boomers. Despite that fact, Millennials still make up just a fraction of the homeowners in most U.S. cities.

Millennial buyers have had a tough start to their homeownership years.  The various hurdles most millennials have faced on their path to homeownership have been much more impactful than that of previous generations.  That their timing has been encumbered by crushing student debt and the shadow of the Great Recession.

Despite these factors, there are many cities across the country where millennials make up a sizable portion of homeowners. According to a recent study by ImproveNet and published in RISMedia, millennials make up approximately 11 percent of homeowners in cities with populations over 150,000.

ImproveNet collected their information by studying the most recent U.S. Census Bureau data available. The company analyzed more than 170 cities nationwide to find the top cities for millennial homeownership.

Here are the top 5 cities—with populations of over 150,000—that have the most millennial homebuyers, as well as the percent of units occupied by people under the age of 35:

Clarksville, TN           23.0%
Grand Rapids, MI     19.5%
Sioux Falls, SD           18.2%
Minneapolis, MN     16.7%
Atlanta, GA               16.4%

It should also be noted that Grand Rapids ranks 7th in the nation with percent of owner-occupied single homeowners under 35 and living alone.  The national average is 2% and Grand Rapids is nearly double that amount at 3.8%.

For many, owning a home and having a family represents the quintessential American dream. However, only 6 percent of homeowners represent millennial families. When they do set down roots, these families are most likely to live in Clarksville, Tennessee, where they make up over 15 percent of homeowners, followed by Sioux Falls, IA (11.5%), Gilbert, AZ (10.7%), Grand Rapids (10%), and Bakersfield, CA (9.7%).

With just over 2 percent of millennial family homeowners each, Fort Lauderdale, FL, Hialeah, FL, and Detroit, MI are home to the least.

This has been the trend in West Michigan for several years.  The West Michigan attraction for younger families and singles, is expected to continue.

MARKET FORCES SHALL PREVAIL

The law of supply and demand will usually indicate the health of the real estate market.  During the Covid-19 real estate shut down, we were limited to buyers purchasing ONLY by viewing pictures, floor plans and virtual tours.  Of course, most offers had contingencies for inspections and being able to view the property personally, once the real estate restrictions were lifted.  Surprisingly, it did not stop the buying activity.  It certainly slowed down, but it continued right on through those restricted 6 weeks and we stayed busy.  As of this writing, last Friday, May 8, the listings have picked up and many new pending sales are being reported.  Instead of opening day of baseball, it’s been the opening day of real estate and the buyers are ready to participate.

It has become a bit clearer as of today.  Unemployment may slow the market in certain price ranges and in certain geographic locations, but there are plenty of buyers that remain employed and there is about to be more supply to choose from.  West Michigan is fortunate for many reasons and the real estate trends speak to a bright future of younger families participating in home ownership.  More Baby Boomers will be selling their homes; more Millennials will be buying their first homes and more Millennials will be move up buyers, as their families grow.  Add to the additional influx of singles under the age of 35 and the West Michigan housing market may hardly miss a beat.  Most of the questions regarding the health of the West Michigan real estate market in the coming weeks and months, will be answered by the Millennial generation and their desire to be homeowners.

Rick Seese works with buyers and sellers of residential, commercial and industrial real estate.  He is an Associate Broker with Greenridge Realty, Inc. and has been licensed full-time for 43 years.  If you’re interested in reaching out to Rick for more information, or have a question for the monthly article, you can contact him via email ([email protected]), visit his website at www.rickseese.com or Facebook page at (www.facebook.com/Rick Seese), or call/text him at 616-437-2576.

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