California Governor Gavin Newsom’s executive “Stay-at-Home” order is having an effect on industries throughout the state. Our local real estate market is in the early stages of adjusting as a result of the order. There are 16 essential infrastructure sectors that are exempt from staying home, and while housing construction and property management are considered essential, Realtors are NOT exempt from this order. What that means, in short, is the home market has been put on ice. In order to safely social distance, how can you possibly conduct an in-person showing, meet for a listing presentation, or hold an open house? Short answer: You can’t do it. Additionally, with well-deserved concerns over the spread of the
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Month: March 2020
Coronavirus infection cases have grown with exponential speed. Stock markets have reacted negatively with incredible speed. News seems to be changing at remarkable speed. Speed, speed, speed. Conversely, residential real estate moves very, very slowly. Thanks to a slow moving asset class, we really do not know what effects this “new normal” is having on residential real estate just yet. It takes a couple of weeks to prepare a property for sale, then a few more weeks to make a deal on a listing, and perhaps a month or longer to close an escrow. It is too early to tell and it will be impossible to project until we get more certainty on how the Coronavirus
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As of the completion of this blog post at 7am today, the Dow Jones is down around 2,000 points, again. This now takes the stock market down about 27% from its highs. Financial news is talking about the needs for drastic action from the Federal government from a health and fiscal standpoint. I don’t know enough to know what is true in financial markets, but it seems that this will likely affect most businesses and most markets in some way. In volatile times, it is tough to value companies unless you are absolutely sure of their income and expenses. The companies that have predictable revenues and a reliable and safe dividend can make it easier to
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Over the last two weeks, the U.S. equity markets have seen extreme volatility not seen since the Great Recession. The Coronavirus, which started out as a small outbreak in China, rocked the second-largest economy in the world over the past two months and has started to spread throughout the globe. Further, the Coronavirus is starting to affect confidence and nerves not just in the United States, but in California, Los Angeles County, and in the South Bay. In fact, California just declared State of Emergency. Per USA Today’s Curtis Tate last night, he reported that a contract medical screener at LAX tested positive for Coronavirus. That hits right at home here in the South Bay. Whether
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