Dear MCAR member,
Please read the latest news and updates, including C.A.R. guidelines for Governor Newsom's latest announcements and Department of Real Estate changes to deadlines. Also watch the July 14 Legal Update presented by Gov Hutchinson in case you missed it.
Kevin
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The Department of Real Estate (DRE) issued a
News Release
today relating to Governor Gavin Newsom’s
Executive Order N-71-20
issued June 30, 2020, which impacts DRE applicants and licensees. In relation to this new order, DRE has posted new FAQs on its
website
.
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Governor Newsom’s New Shutdown Order of Does Not Affect Brokers or Office
On Monday, July 13, Governor Newsom issued a new shutdown order — this order does not affect the current practices of real estate brokers or their offices. Based on updates to the State’s Industry Guidance for Real Estate Transactions made on July 2, C.A.R.’s legal team revised our Reopening Brokerage Offices FAQ. The new order requires no further changes to the FAQ because real estate remains an essential service. Remember to check to see if your city or county has stricter rules.
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Open House Guidance
C.A.R. wants to remind members that “open houses” on a walk-in basis are still prohibited. All showings still require either an appointment or a digital sign-in process prior to entry, including completing a PEAD form. Any such showings still must follow these rules:
- Have protective equipment like masks and hand sanitizer made available.
- Thoroughly clean all shown properties and disinfect commonly used areas such as doors and doorknobs, cabinet handles, switches, etc.
- Control the number of people in the house by only allowing in one buying party at a time (which could consist of more than one person). The listing agent and buyer's agent may also be on the property at the same time.
- All showings require appointments OR digital sign-ins.
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Registration Now Open for REimagine! Real Estate Virtual Conference & Expo
In case you missed today’s announcement, registration is now live for C.A.R.’s REimagine! Real Estate Virtual Conference & Expo! This year, C.A.R. is making the entire event free for all C.A.R. members. Be sure to mark Oct. 12-14 on your calendars and register for this year’s can’t-miss industry event.
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Update on Coronavirus Market Impacts
Many positive signs abound for California’s economy and housing market. However, much of the recent data has yet to be impacted by the spike in Coronavirus cases and positive tests. Overall, preliminary indications are that the housing market recovered much of its lost ground in June and economic data continues to improve. Still, uncertainty has also grown in recent weeks and the downside risks have also increased with a larger likelihood that the recent recovery could lose some momentum in coming weeks.
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Governor Extends Deadlines Impacting DRE Applicants and Licensee
Gov. Gavin Newsom has issued an Executive Order which, among other things, extends several Department of Real Estate (DRE) statutory deadlines.The Executive Order extends the following until Dec. 31, 2020:
- timeframes associated with examination application expiration dates
- timeframes associated with license expiration dates
- deadlines related to the payment of license application fees
- deadlines related to the payment of license renewal fees
- deadlines related to completing continuing education requirements for expiring licensees
- deadlines specified in existing Orders issued by the Real Estate Commissioner
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Earnnest. Any bank. Anytime. Anywhere.
Earnnest has partnered with C.A.R. Business Products to bring you the largest digital earnest money service in the United States, allowing your homebuyers to deposit funds directly to an escrow holder. Save time for you and your clients while replacing the hassle and risk of checks or wire transfers. Get started by connecting your escrow holder to Earnnest today.
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What's Motivating Moves During the Pandemic
Americans have been on the move for more reasons than just to snag record low mortgage rates, shows a new survey of 2,000 real estate agents from HomeLight. The survey was conducted in a series of seven separate polls from April to the end of June and found the top moving motivators cited include the need for space (44%), a desire to buy versus rent (41%), and to relocate to the suburbs (37%).
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A weekly digest to keep you up to speed on the California coronavirus outbreak.
Welcome to the 18
th
issue of the California Coronavirus Weekly Newsletter. We at C.A.R. hope you and yours are well. Before we get started on the news, make sure you check out the following:
- We have updated our FAQ on Reopening Brokerage Offices. On Monday, July 13, Governor Newsom issued a new shutdown order — this order does not affect the current practices of real estate brokers or their offices. Based on updates to the State’s Industry Guidance for Real Estate Transactions made on July 2, C.A.R.’s legal team revised our Reopening Brokerage Offices FAQ. Today’s order requires no further changes to the FAQ because real estate remains an essential service. Remember to check to see if your city or county has stricter rules.
- We have clarified new Open House Guidance based on the July 2 changes made to the Industry Guidance.
In This Issue:
- The Economy & Your Finances: Federal taxes due today, $600 extra weekly unemployment to end July 25
- The Market & Industry: Buyer demand on the rise, renters facing significant challenges
- Around the State: Newsom shuts down all bars, indoor restaurants and more
- Health Check-Up: Avoid poorly ventilated indoor spaces
The Economy & Your Finances: Federal taxes due today, $600 extra weekly unemployment to end July 25
As of right now, the extra $600 per week in federal joblessness benefits is set to
expire on July 25
, unless Congress extends the program. Back in May, the House of Representatives passed a $3 trillion stimulus bill called the
HEROES Act
, which would — among other thing — extend the weekly $600 benefit through January 2021. The White House is unlikely to support the HEROES Act as it currently stands, but Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has indicated
another stimulus bill
could be signed by the end of July. Over
150 economists
have written to Congress asking that the additional unemployment payments be preserved in the next stimulus package, along with ongoing stimulus checks, state and local government aid, enhanced SNAP benefits and funding for childcare.
Four months after the United States began shutting down in response to the pandemic, more than
32 million Americans
— one-fifth of the workforce — are receiving some form of unemployment assistance. The economic fallout has been particularly hard on the
younger generations
, many members of whom are still recovering from first entering the job market during the Great Recession. Women of color have also experienced disproportionate hardship; in California,
Black and Latinx women
have lost work at three times the rate of white men.
The California EDD has begun contacting regular Unemployment Insurance (UI) and Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) benefits claimants to make “Retroactive Certification” of eligibility for benefits for the weeks before May 9, 2020. While claimants are normally required to certify every 2 weeks prior to receiving benefits, the certification requirement was temporarily suspended early in the pandemic to expedite the payment process. Now, the EDD is requiring retroactive certification to make sure those who received benefits during the waived certification period were eligible. Members have reported being contacted by mail, email or text. Retroactive Certification must be completed and submitted by October 5, 2020.
Click here
for additional information and access to the Retroactive Certification Application.
California’s weekly
new jobless claims
remain much higher than normal. Over a four-week period ending on July 4, California initial unemployment claims averaged 267,600 per week. Yet while the fallout has been substantial in California and across the nation, new research suggests that closing down the economy in March saved between
900,000 and 2.7 million American lives
.
On July 11, the SBA announced that it has discontinued making Economic Injury Disaster Loan (“EIDL”) emergency grants to new applicants, having allocated the full $20 billion that was appropriated by Congress for the program. EIDL loan applications will still be processed by the SBA, even though the emergency grant is no longer available. Keep in mind that EIDL loans are not forgivable and will need to be repaid.
Sources: REALTOR® Magazine, Internal Revenue Service, CNBC, Fast Company, CBS News, Los Angeles Times, The Mercury News, ABC 7
The Market & Industry: Buyer demand on the rise, renters facing significant challenges
Yesterday, Governor Newsom signed Executive
Order N-71-20
, which — among other things — extended timeframes associated with examination application and licensee expiration dates through December 31, 2020.
Due to
strong buyer demand
, the percentage of homes
closing below their listing prices
has been decreasing. Data from Fannie Mae confirms that housing confidence is getting stronger: In a recent survey, 61 percent of respondents said
now is a good time to buy
. Mortgage applications are also
33 percent
higher than they were at this time last year, and
homebuilders
saw their strongest June sales since the housing boom. This increased demand can be attributed to historically low mortgage rates, as well as buyers playing “catch-up” during the reopening after the first shutdown. But the momentum of the current rebound will likely be limited by California’s constrained housing supply, as well as this week’s second shutdown.
Housing prices have largely remained stable, even rising in the
Bay Area
markets. Redfin reported that over half of its offers in June faced
bidding wars
.
While mortgages in
forbearance
continue to drop,
32 percent
of renters and homeowners did not make a full housing payment on July 1, according to an Apartment List survey. Renters, in particular, still face significant financial hurdles: In June,
31 percent
of renters reported they had little confidence in their ability to pay next month’s rent. On Sunday, Los Angeles started taking applications for its $103-million
Emergency Renters Relief Program
, aimed at helping renters disadvantaged by COVID-19. All eligible applicants will have an equal chance of being randomly selected for the program, which ends at 11:59 p.m. this Friday.
Meanwhile, Apple committed the first
$400 million
of its $2.5-billion, multiyear pledge to affordable housing projects across California.
Sources: C.A.R. Research & Economics, Zillow, AP News, CNBC, The Mercury News, Redfin, Inman News, Los Angeles Times
Around the State: Newsom shuts down all bars, indoor restaurants and more
In response to recent surges in cases, on Monday Governor Gavin Newsom closed all indoor
restaurants, wineries, family entertainment centers, movie theaters and zoos, as well as all indoor and outdoor bars
,
statewide. He also ordered all counties that have been on the state’s
County Monitoring List
for three or more consecutive days must shut down indoor fitness centers, worship services, protests, offices for non-essential sectors, personal care services, hair salons and malls.
On Sunday, the rate at which COVID tests were coming back positive hit
8.3 percent
, the highest percentage recorded since April. Hospitalizations have increased
28 percent
over a two-week period. Yesterday,
Los Angeles County
set a daily record for new cases and hospitalizations. As of yesterday at 10:12 p.m., cases in California numbered
346,445
and deaths had hit 7,243. California has the second-highest number of coronavirus cases in the country, behind New York (403,175).
Sources: Los Angeles Times, COVID-19 California, CNN, NPR, CAL Matters, The Guardian, The New York Times, KCRA, The Mercury News, ABC News
Health Check-Up: Avoid poorly ventilated indoor spaces
The World Health Organization acknowledged last Thursday that COVID-19 may be able to
linger in the air
, giving it the ability to infect people indoors even while they are social distancing. Contact tracing studies have shown that
confined indoor spaces
can spread the disease, and health experts are warning that social distancing precautions might not be enough for those spaces especially if they are poorly ventilated.
Racial disparities continue to surface around the coronavirus pandemic, with
Black and Latinx
patients dying at younger ages than white patients. And in Los Angeles County, Latinx people are
twice as likely to be infected
than white people.
Despite early statements that severe cases of COVID-19 primarily target the elderly, new research has found that one-third
of young adults may be at risk
of getting very sick if they contract the virus, particularly if they smoke or vape. Studies have also shown you are more likely to be at higher risk if you have
Type A blood
, and that
men are more likely to die
from COVID-19 than women.
Researchers are working on a new generation of coronavirus tests that should be able to deliver
results within one hour
, but it will likely be months before such tests are widespread.
Sources: Los Angeles Times, Vox, The San Francisco Chronicle, The New York Times
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