ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT Lower Interest Rates May Appear If Market Stalls Rent Relief Bill Signed Into Law Gov. Gavin Newsom recently signed into law Senate Bill 91, a measure that provides financial assistance to qualifying hous- ing providers and tenants of up to 80 percent of the unpaid rent accrued since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. The COVID relief legislation passed by Congress with bipartisan sup- port and signed into law in December set aside $25 billion for direct financial relief to rental property providers through the states. SB 91 establishes the rules for distributing those funds in California based on the framework established by the federal stimulus bill. The California Association of Realtors worked ckosely with California members of Congress to ensure that direct assistance to rental property owners was included in the overall legislation. Additionally, SB 91 extends the current statewide eviction morato- rium law until June 30, 2021. The state eviction moratorium parallels the federal eviction mora- torium initiated in September 2020, recently extended through March and which will likely be extended further by Congress. C.A.R. antici- pates that the passage of SB 91 will prevent other, more restrictive state moratorium proposals from moving forward, including AB 15, which C.A.R. opposes. SB 91 had no declared opposition. C.A.R. took a formal "neutral" position on SB 91, as did other rental housing organizations, reflecting the extraordinary and unique circumstances caused by COVID-19. C.A.R. is preparing a Legal Q&A on the new law, which will be available soon to members. Further regulations are expected once the law is passed to address the particulars of the distribution of funds the law calls for. Southiand Regona Association of Reatos By Dane Sydel, Presidert, and Dovd Waer Interest rates remain in the mid-2 percent range but could rise to 3 percent by the end of the year if the market remains active or, if it SOUTHLAND REGIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS", INC. stalls, rates may drop even lower. waived about 50 percent of the time, "Banks are still holding back about a half percent," said Michael Weis- berg, president and broker of Lend to America. "We should be secing rates closer to 2 percent. If the market slows down, lenders restrictions have made it difficult for appraisers to physically inspect properties epecially if a property is owner occupied in a timely, safe way. As a result, "in the last six months were seeing appraisal waivers,"he said, "meaning no appraisal needed for the loan." That is more likely to happen when a buyer is making a larger downpayment, but a raft of other issues also come into Also, owners who had their mort- gage go into forbearance may need to repay a pandemic-related loan before a refinance or purchase loan could be issued, which complicates some sales. Is there a bubble or will homes fail to ap- praise for a loan play. Realtor Diane Sydell, 2021 SRAR President Yet if a physical inspection and evalu- ation of a property is not possible, how does a buyer know what a property is worth? Comparable sales data can provide a foundation, perhaps even explaining a 10 percent to 20 percent variance in price for seemingly equivalent properties. "We can have our appraisers look at comps on line without having to have them go into the ficld,"he said. Or, even a drive-by inspection coukd yield important differences that might due to rising resale prices? Weisberg said may offer more. Thecy will find a way to keep it going." Weisberg was one of the speakers on a recent Zoom call attended by 76 San Femando Valley and Santa Clarita Valley real estate office owners, brokers and managers. The call was part of a bi- weekly meeting of local leaders offered by the Southland Regional Association of Realtors. Weisberg said local lenders are still the market is three years past a normal correc- tion, but he did not see any ma- jor storm clouds on the horizon. "Low inven- tory is driving Open Houses and Showings Under COVID-19 As a reminder to Realtors, under the Departments of Public Health and Cal/Osha's "Industry Guidance: Real Estate Trans- actions," Realtors must not hold "traditional" open houses or showings that are open to the general public on a walk-in basis. This is interpreted to mean that appointments need to be made in advance and not at the location of the showing. In other words, this is a showing, not an open house in the traditional sense. Realtors should use an appointment or digital sign-in process to control the number of people at the house. If a Realtor is going to hold a non-traditional "Open House," then any "Open House" signs or ads must include a rider or express condi- tions that appointments or digital sign-ins are required before entry. Showings should be done virtually, whenever possible. Only one list- ing agent and one "buying party"- including the buyer's agent - may be in the dwelling at the same time. Additionally, all visitors must sign a PEAD-V form and deliver it electronically to the listing agent in advance of entering the property. The form should be signed on the day of entry, or if not possible or pragmatic, then no earlier than 24-hours before entry. Doing this accomplishes several things: First, it is an agreement that the visitor will comply with the Posted "Rules for Entry Showings"- Form PRE; Second, the visitor acknowledges receiving the form and agrees to the Prevention Plan; and Third, the visitor attests they are not, to the best of their knowledge, aflicted with COVID-19, among other things. If a city or county has an order with a more restrictive standard on real estate activities, those guidelines will still govern the activities of a licensee. In other words, if there is a more restrictive local order, it must still be followed. For more information, see the FAQS on Industry Guid- ance for Showings. Michael Weisberg. President/Broker. Lend to America issuing loans and transactions are closing justify a higher purchase price. the market, keeping prices high," in an average of 21 days with no prob- lems, despite the heavy workload. "There's still capacity,"he said, "even though we're all very busy." The biggest complication Weisberg said he had noticed concerned delays with appraisals. COVID-19 risks and mandatory Nonetheless, some lenders want a physical appraisal, he said, "which could trigger changes, such as a water heater needing a strap or no fire alams. "Now you've got a subject-to'situation where all issues must be corrected before a loan can fund." Weisberg said appraisals are being he said, and no statistical indicators even suggest that today's dire listing shortage will change anytime soon. The Southland Regional Association of Real tors is a local trade association with more than 10,300 members senving the San Fer nando and Santa Carita Valeys. SRAR is one of the largest local associations in the nation. 60% Say 2021 Will Wealthy People Far More Likely to Say Now Be Good for Housing generat do you think that now is agod ime to buy a home in your is a Good Time to Buy a Home neighborhood Sixty percent of homebuyers and sellers believe the housing mar- ket will fare better in 2021 than 2020, compared with 17 percent who believe it will fare worse. That's according to a Redfin-com- missioned survey across 32 major U.S. housing markets of more than 1,400 people who bought or sold a home in the previous 12 months or plan to buy or sell a home in the next 12 months. Homeowners and high-income people were most likely to be optimistic about this year's hoRusing market The real estate market was a bright spot in the economy in 2020, with home-price growth, sales and competition high. Overall 550k-S74k $75k-599k $100k-S149k $150k 45% 46% 43% 43% 36% 35% 29% 25% 18N 15% 14% I5% 12% Now is a bad time to buy Now is an OK time to buy Nowis a good time to buy REDFIN SourceRedey THE VOICE OF REAL ESTATE IN THE SAN FERNANDO AND SANTA CLARITA VALLEYS www.SRAR.com | Real Estate Questions? E-mail Diane Sydell, SRAR 2021 President, c/o DavidW@SRAR.com REALTORS is a federally registered collective membership mark which identifies a real estate professional who is a Member of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS and subscribes to its strict Code of Ethics. ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT Lower Interest Rates May Appear If Market Stalls Rent Relief Bill Signed Into Law Gov. Gavin Newsom recently signed into law Senate Bill 91, a measure that provides financial assistance to qualifying hous- ing providers and tenants of up to 80 percent of the unpaid rent accrued since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. The COVID relief legislation passed by Congress with bipartisan sup- port and signed into law in December set aside $25 billion for direct financial relief to rental property providers through the states. SB 91 establishes the rules for distributing those funds in California based on the framework established by the federal stimulus bill. The California Association of Realtors worked ckosely with California members of Congress to ensure that direct assistance to rental property owners was included in the overall legislation. Additionally, SB 91 extends the current statewide eviction morato- rium law until June 30, 2021. The state eviction moratorium parallels the federal eviction mora- torium initiated in September 2020, recently extended through March and which will likely be extended further by Congress. C.A.R. antici- pates that the passage of SB 91 will prevent other, more restrictive state moratorium proposals from moving forward, including AB 15, which C.A.R. opposes. SB 91 had no declared opposition. C.A.R. took a formal "neutral" position on SB 91, as did other rental housing organizations, reflecting the extraordinary and unique circumstances caused by COVID-19. C.A.R. is preparing a Legal Q&A on the new law, which will be available soon to members. Further regulations are expected once the law is passed to address the particulars of the distribution of funds the law calls for. Southiand Regona Association of Reatos By Dane Sydel, Presidert, and Dovd Waer Interest rates remain in the mid-2 percent range but could rise to 3 percent by the end of the year if the market remains active or, if it SOUTHLAND REGIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS", INC. stalls, rates may drop even lower. waived about 50 percent of the time, "Banks are still holding back about a half percent," said Michael Weis- berg, president and broker of Lend to America. "We should be secing rates closer to 2 percent. If the market slows down, lenders restrictions have made it difficult for appraisers to physically inspect properties epecially if a property is owner occupied in a timely, safe way. As a result, "in the last six months were seeing appraisal waivers,"he said, "meaning no appraisal needed for the loan." That is more likely to happen when a buyer is making a larger downpayment, but a raft of other issues also come into Also, owners who had their mort- gage go into forbearance may need to repay a pandemic-related loan before a refinance or purchase loan could be issued, which complicates some sales. Is there a bubble or will homes fail to ap- praise for a loan play. Realtor Diane Sydell, 2021 SRAR President Yet if a physical inspection and evalu- ation of a property is not possible, how does a buyer know what a property is worth? Comparable sales data can provide a foundation, perhaps even explaining a 10 percent to 20 percent variance in price for seemingly equivalent properties. "We can have our appraisers look at comps on line without having to have them go into the ficld,"he said. Or, even a drive-by inspection coukd yield important differences that might due to rising resale prices? Weisberg said may offer more. Thecy will find a way to keep it going." Weisberg was one of the speakers on a recent Zoom call attended by 76 San Femando Valley and Santa Clarita Valley real estate office owners, brokers and managers. The call was part of a bi- weekly meeting of local leaders offered by the Southland Regional Association of Realtors. Weisberg said local lenders are still the market is three years past a normal correc- tion, but he did not see any ma- jor storm clouds on the horizon. "Low inven- tory is driving Open Houses and Showings Under COVID-19 As a reminder to Realtors, under the Departments of Public Health and Cal/Osha's "Industry Guidance: Real Estate Trans- actions," Realtors must not hold "traditional" open houses or showings that are open to the general public on a walk-in basis. This is interpreted to mean that appointments need to be made in advance and not at the location of the showing. In other words, this is a showing, not an open house in the traditional sense. Realtors should use an appointment or digital sign-in process to control the number of people at the house. If a Realtor is going to hold a non-traditional "Open House," then any "Open House" signs or ads must include a rider or express condi- tions that appointments or digital sign-ins are required before entry. Showings should be done virtually, whenever possible. Only one list- ing agent and one "buying party"- including the buyer's agent - may be in the dwelling at the same time. Additionally, all visitors must sign a PEAD-V form and deliver it electronically to the listing agent in advance of entering the property. The form should be signed on the day of entry, or if not possible or pragmatic, then no earlier than 24-hours before entry. Doing this accomplishes several things: First, it is an agreement that the visitor will comply with the Posted "Rules for Entry Showings"- Form PRE; Second, the visitor acknowledges receiving the form and agrees to the Prevention Plan; and Third, the visitor attests they are not, to the best of their knowledge, aflicted with COVID-19, among other things. If a city or county has an order with a more restrictive standard on real estate activities, those guidelines will still govern the activities of a licensee. In other words, if there is a more restrictive local order, it must still be followed. For more information, see the FAQS on Industry Guid- ance for Showings. Michael Weisberg. President/Broker. Lend to America issuing loans and transactions are closing justify a higher purchase price. the market, keeping prices high," in an average of 21 days with no prob- lems, despite the heavy workload. "There's still capacity,"he said, "even though we're all very busy." The biggest complication Weisberg said he had noticed concerned delays with appraisals. COVID-19 risks and mandatory Nonetheless, some lenders want a physical appraisal, he said, "which could trigger changes, such as a water heater needing a strap or no fire alams. "Now you've got a subject-to'situation where all issues must be corrected before a loan can fund." Weisberg said appraisals are being he said, and no statistical indicators even suggest that today's dire listing shortage will change anytime soon. The Southland Regional Association of Real tors is a local trade association with more than 10,300 members senving the San Fer nando and Santa Carita Valeys. SRAR is one of the largest local associations in the nation. 60% Say 2021 Will Wealthy People Far More Likely to Say Now Be Good for Housing generat do you think that now is agod ime to buy a home in your is a Good Time to Buy a Home neighborhood Sixty percent of homebuyers and sellers believe the housing mar- ket will fare better in 2021 than 2020, compared with 17 percent who believe it will fare worse. That's according to a Redfin-com- missioned survey across 32 major U.S. housing markets of more than 1,400 people who bought or sold a home in the previous 12 months or plan to buy or sell a home in the next 12 months. Homeowners and high-income people were most likely to be optimistic about this year's hoRusing market The real estate market was a bright spot in the economy in 2020, with home-price growth, sales and competition high. Overall 550k-S74k $75k-599k $100k-S149k $150k 45% 46% 43% 43% 36% 35% 29% 25% 18N 15% 14% I5% 12% Now is a bad time to buy Now is an OK time to buy Nowis a good time to buy REDFIN SourceRedey THE VOICE OF REAL ESTATE IN THE SAN FERNANDO AND SANTA CLARITA VALLEYS www.SRAR.com | Real Estate Questions? E-mail Diane Sydell, SRAR 2021 President, c/o DavidW@SRAR.com REALTORS is a federally registered collective membership mark which identifies a real estate professional who is a Member of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS and subscribes to its strict Code of Ethics.