Six Bay Area counties including San Francisco issued a shelter in place order that begins Tuesday at midnight. This means everyone must stay inside their homes and away from others as much as possible until (at least) April 7th.
Along with every other industry worldwide, local real estate is now on pause. The San Francisco Realtor Association (SFAR) announced this afternoon that it will be suspending broker tours and open houses for at least the next three weeks.
SFAR can’t mandate that agents put their active listings on hold, nor can it ban private showings.
However, I think we should all acknowledge the gravity of the coronavirus situation and voluntarily do just that.
There are currently 240 single-family homes, 411 condos, 47 TICs, and 138 multi-unit buildings currently on the market in the city. Agents have only put a handful of listings on hold as of this afternoon. But come on, people: Going out to pick up essential items like food and medicine is one thing. Heading over to see a luxury condo doesn’t strike me as being essential right now. I’m hoping the “hold” count increases as the week goes on.
It’s likely that we won’t have the coronavirus under control until May, at the earliest. In the meantime, we need to lay low and abide by SF SIP orders.