How to Disinfect a Home Correctly

March 17, 2020

Real estate pros are taking disinfectant wipes to home showings and in their car to clean frequently touched surfaces as they interact with clients to help slow the spread of COVID-19. But are you disinfecting correctly?

HouseLogic.com reports that the best cleaners are either a bleach solution or a 70% alcohol solution. “Follow this bleach recipe: 5 tablespoons (1/3 cup) bleach per gallon of water, or 4 teaspoons of bleach per quart of water,” the site advises, reminding readers to properly ventilate while disinfecting with bleach. The site also notes that bleach can expire, so check the bottle’s expiration date, and never mix bleach with anything other than water.

If you don’t have bleach, use 70% rubbing alcohol, which is already diluted, HouseLogic says. Disinfecting wipes use an ammonium compound, which could allow viruses to become resistant over time. “Disinfection isn’t instantaneous,” Erica Marie Hartman, an environmental microbiologist at Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill., told HouseLogic. “[For a bleach solution], you want to leave it on the surface for 10 minutes before wiping it off. “

Allow for “dwell time,” agrees an article at Apartment Therapy that features an interview with microbiologists. Disinfecting solutions need to remain on the surface for a certain amount of time to be effective. That can vary by product. For example, Clorox Wipes instructions advise treating a surface “using enough wipes for the treated surface to remain visibly wet for four minutes.” Other disinfectants, including bleach, have their own instructions for proper use. Be sure to check the bottle.

Also, disinfectants don’t provide lasting protection. If a sick person touches the surface right after you clean it, new germs will be left there. “The reality is that bacteria are complex organisms, and the vast majority of people don’t understand the intricate mechanisms that power them, which leads to them underestimating just how easily they can be reintroduced and quickly multiply on an unprotected surface,” says Morgan Brashear, the scientific communications manager at Proctor & Gamble.

However, there is such a thing as over-disinfecting surfaces too. Visit Apartment Therapy to learn more.Source: “How to Disinfect Your Home in the Time of Coronavirus,” Houselogic.com (March 16, 2020); “3 Things Everyone Gets Wrong About Disinfectants,” Apartment Therapy (March 16, 2020)Comment

An entryway gives home buyers their first impression of the inside of a home. A foyer that is dark or cramped can be a turnoff.
Realtor.com® recently asked designers for common mistakes they see in the appearance of the entryway. Make sure you’re not making these four mistakes.
1. Furniture that’s not up to scale. Choose slender items that are meant to fit a smaller space. You don’t want to block a path to the inside of your house. The scale of the furniture is critical for the entryway. “The entryway has a function, and it’s best to keep this in mind when choosing furniture,” Laurie Wiluan, founder and CEO of Personal Space MB, told realtor.com®.
Continue…https://magazine.realtor/daily-news/2020/03/19/don-t-turn-off-buyers-at-the-door-foyer-design-mistakes

Just how long mortgage rates will remain at rock-bottom percentages is tough to judge, but don’t be surprised if they do what they did last week and rise again over the next few weeks.
Despite the effects of the coronavirus on already turbulent financial markets and concerns of a recession, mortgage rates will “likely stabilize but remain low for now,” predicts Joel Kan, associate vice president of economic and industry forecasting at the Mortgage Bankers Association.
Continue…https://magazine.realtor/daily-news/2020/03/18/will-mortgage-rates-remain-low

Is gray cooling for interiors? Where do those trendy blues work best? Paint can do a lot to upgrade a space. Fixr, an online marketplace for home improvement services, spoke to home design experts to gather insights on the hot color trends for 2020. Here are a few trends they found in their study:
Continue… https://magazine.realtor/daily-news/2020/03/13/4-paint-trends-to-watch

The Federal Reserve called an emergency meeting Sunday to slash its benchmark rate to zero—its second response to the volatile economic reaction to the coronavirus outbreak. The Fed also said it would buy $700 billion in Treasury and mortgage bonds. After the Fed’s last emergency cut on March 3, mortgage rates plunged to all-time lows. Freddie Mac reported the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 3.29% for the week ending March 5. Could rates go even lower with the Fed’s latest emergency cut? Not necessarily, economists say.
The Fed’s benchmark rate is not directly tied to mortgage rates, although it often influences them. Mortgage rates are more directly tied to the 10-year Treasury note, which was pushed to a series of recent lows earlier this month but has climbed higher over the past week. Economists caution that mortgage rates don’t always respond in unison to the Fed’s rate adjustment. Further, lender backlogs are keeping rates from going lower. Because banks are handling more loan requests than they can handle, the financial institutions are charging some borrowers more. This trend will ease overtime as the backlog is worked off and lenders staff up or figure out how to do more work remotely.
Continue…https://magazine.realtor/daily-news/2020/03/16/yun-fed-s-rate-cut-to-zero-is-the-right-policy

Could Mortgage Rates Really Drop to Zero?

September 13, 2019

President Donald Trump has called on the U.S. Federal Reserve to drop interest rates to zero, or even negative, at its next meeting on Sept. 17. That has sparked several discussions this week on how that could impact the housing market.

For one, that could mean cheaper mortgages for home buyers, housing analysts say. While the Fed’s benchmark rate does not have a direct influence on mortgage rates, it does often influence them.

“If the federal rates go down to zero, mortgage rates could drop from 3.56% for a 30-year fixed-rate loan, as of Thursday, to, well, nothing,” realtor.com® reports. Is it feasible? Bank of America officials told USA Today: “We believe negative rates in the U.S. are a possibility.”

How would a zero mortgage rate work? “Most people think they’d get money back … but not really,” says George Ratiu, senior economist at realtor.com®. “A portion of your loan is forgiven each month so you end up paying a little less over the life of the loan.” Buyers and refinancers could expect fees to rise as a result. Lenders would still need to turn a profit.

Lower mortgage rates cause payments to go down and could lead to more qualified buyers, Don Frommeyer of CIBM Mortgage in Indianapolis told realtor.com®. “Their debt goes down, and they become eligible to buy a bigger home,” he says.

One country has already seen the impact from low- or negative-rate loans. Denmark’s third-largest bank, Jyske Bank, began offering its customers 10-year mortgages with a negative 0.5% interest rate. Clients are paying the bank less than they owe on the loan. Other banks in the country are following suit.

Low interest rates could be a boon for home shoppers, but for savers or retirees who live off their savings it could be a “tremendous blow,” Ratiu says. “They would end up having to pay money to keep their funds in the bank,” he told realtor.com®. “You’re not likely going to be incentivized to save.” That could also make it tougher for some people to save up for a down payment.Source: “Trump Wants Zero—or Negative—Interest Rates: What That Would Mean for Mortgages,” realtor.com® (Sept. 12, 2019) and “Trump Wants Fed to Cut Interest Rates to Zero or Below. Here’s What It Could Mean for You,” USA Today (Sept. 12, 2019)

Sellers Adopt Showing Procedures to Minimize Coronavirus Spread

March 12, 2020

Some home sellers are making changes to how their listing is viewed by prospective buyers amid growing concerns over the COVID-19 outbreak.

About a quarter of real estate professionals surveyed by the National Association of REALTORS® said their sellers are taking extra precautions, including stopping open houses, requiring buyers to wash their hands or use hand sanitizer, or asking buyers to remove shoes and wear footies.

The survey examines the impact of the coronavirus on the real estate industry so far. Forty-four percent of real estate pros surveyed in the state of Washington and 34% in California reported changes to home tours. The two states currently have the highest number of reported cases of coronavirus in the U.S.

“We are seeing a lot more hand sanitizer and Clorox wipes at open houses,” Wes Jones, managing broker with Keller Williams in Bellevue, Wash., a Seattle suburb, told realtor.com®. “We also make sure to wipe down the front door handle a number of times throughout the open house. It also appears that not shaking hands at all is quickly becoming acceptable.”

Cara Ameer, a real estate professional in California, also said she’s taking extra precautions. “I now carry a canister of disinfecting wipes in my car so I can wipe my hands and the steering wheel after being in and out of houses,” she told realtor.com®. “I have also wiped down lock boxes, light switches, and doorknobs on my listings, and encourage customers to do the same. While you don’t want to make anyone feel uncomfortable, it is better to err on the side of caution rather than worry about exposure. You can never be too careful.”

The coronavirus is having a mixed impact on the housing market. It’s decreasing buyer traffic somewhat—although in still relatively low numbers—but it’s also not deterring some home buyers and sellers from taking advantage of the lowest mortgage rates in history, shows NAR’s survey, which is based on responses from more than 2,500 real estate professionals.

Sixteen percent of real estate pros say they’ve seen a reduction in buyer interest in their market since the onset of the coronavirus in the U.S. In California, 21% of members reported a decrease in buyer interest, and 19% of members said the same in Washington.

“Given that a home transaction is a major commitment, the uncertainties on how the economy will play out and the spread of the virus itself are barriers to home buying and selling,” says Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist. “The stock market crash is no doubt raising economic anxieties, while the coronavirus brings fear of contact with strangers. At the same time, the dramatic fall in interest rates may induce some potential buyers to take advantage of the better affordability conditions. It is too early to assess the likely impact as to whether lower interest rates can overcome the economic and health anxieties.”

At least in the short term, Yun predicts home sales to be down about 10% compared to what they could have been due to the spread of the coronavirus.

One movement that could lessen its impact, however, is the dip in mortgage rates and its effect on buyers to move ahead with a purchase. More than one-third of members said that their clients are excited by the lower mortgage rates.

Real estate pros credit the lower rates for prompting the majority of home sellers to not make a change in the listing of their home, the survey shows. They want to take advantage of the lower rates on the buying side.

In some areas, the number of home sellers is rising. In California, 12% of members said the number of sellers is increasing because of the desire to take advantage of lower interest rates upon moving, according to NAR’s survey. Nine percent of real estate pros nationwide also reported a higher number of homeowners wanting to sell for this reason. Only 3% of sellers nationwide have decided to remove their home from the market and refinance into a lower mortgage rate so they can remain in their home.

Read more coronavirus and real estate coverage:

Saturday, March 21. 10:00-4:00 at the Hibbing Memorial Building. Contact 218-262-5582 for more information.

Homeowners were in a rush to take advantage of lower mortgage rates, as weekly refinance applications surged 26%, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported Wednesday. Refinance volume is now nearly 224% higher than a year ago.
Mortgage rates are falling due to fears of an outbreak of the new coronavirus in the U.S. The average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage dropped to 3.57% last week from 3.73% a week earlier, the MBA reports. A year ago, rates averaged 4.67%, 110 basis points higher.
“The 30-year fixed rate mortgage dropped to its lowest level in more than seven years last week, amidst increasing concerns regarding the economic impact from the spread of the coronavirus, as well as the tremendous financial market volatility,” says Mike Fratantoni, the MBA’s senior vice president and chief economist.
Continue…https://magazine.realtor/daily-news/2020/03/05/mortgage-applications-climb-sharply-as-rates-drop

The Real Estate Market Is 3.3M Homes Short, Study Says

March 3, 2020

Many home buyers are having a tough time finding a home they want, and the problem will likely get worse. A new study by Freddie Mac puts the housing shortage in a dire perspective: a 3.3 million unit deficit nationwide.

Years of underbuilding has created an inventory shortfall, which is most pronounced in states with strong economies that have been luring more people to move for jobs, Freddie Mac’s latest Insight report notes.

“Simply put, new housing supply is not keeping up with rising demand,” says Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist. Freddie Mac’s report says the housing shortage is rising by about 300,000 units a year. “More than half of all states have a housing shortage, and the shortage is no longer concentrated in coastal markets but is spreading to the middle of the country, in more affordable states like Texas and Minnesota,” Khater adds.

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Those interior states as well as others, such as Colorado, are now feeling the crunch and need to build more housing units to accommodate areas growing in population. “Domestic migration is worsening the housing shortage issue in some states,” the report notes. “In pursuit of new opportunities in states with stronger economies, people have migrated from states with surplus housing like West Virginia, Alabama, and North Dakota, to states with housing deficits, putting pressure on high-growth states.”

The Freddie Mac report estimates 29 states have a housing supply deficit, and the shortfalls are driving up home prices in areas where inventories are the tightest. The states with the highest deficits are Oregon, California, Minnesota, Florida, Colorado, and Texas.

“We are in the midst of a demographic tailwind, and we expect home purchase demand will remain strong well into the next decade as the peak cohorts of millennials turn thirty years of age in 2020 and beyond,” Khater says. Freddie Mac predicts the housing shortages to worsen, too, as millennials and Generation Z enter the housing markets to form their own households over this decade. That will prompt home prices to continue to rise, the report notes.Source: Freddie Mac