The coronavirus crisis hit the Sacramento real estate market hard in March, as expected, knocking sales numbers to some of their lowest spring levels in years.

But the home buying and selling market remains alive despite the overall economic shutdown, and house sale prices even nudged marginally upward during the early days of the virus.

The Sacramento Association of Realtors reported the median sales price in February and March was $400,000 in Sacramento, up from $397,500 in January and early February.

Most notably, though, Sacramento County health officials this week formally declared real estate transactions an “essential service” that could continue, with restrictions, at least through the month of April.

In a revised health order, the Sacramento County health department clarified that real estate agents and clients are allowed to enter some for-sale homes for showings. There had been disagreements and confusion in March, under earlier state and local shutdown orders, whether homes were off-limits or not to buyers, agents, appraisers and others in the real estate business.

The county is encouraging any work that can be done virtually, either online or on the phone, to be done that way. That includes house showings via videos and photos. And real estate industry officials across the state are insisting that agents do not hold open houses.

But under the Sacramento County edict, buyers, agents, appraisers and others are now allowed to conduct on-site visits at for-sale homes that are not currently being lived in by the owner.

State and local realtor associations are saying those visits should be preceded by safety discussions. And that sellers as well as buyers and agents who enter homes should sign a document first saying they agree to coronavirus-prevention safety measures. The California Association of Realtors has published a document that agents can give to buyers and sellers to read and sign.

Dave Tanner, head of the Sacramento Association of Realtors, said the new county rules came after realtor representatives told county health authorities that some home sales were already in process, but needed appraisals and other in-home assessments in order for the deals to be closed.

Industry officials also made the case that, given the dramatic change in life circumstances for many residents, such as layoffs, some need to sell their homes, and others may need to buy.

Not business as usual in real estate

Tanner, though, issued a stern warning in a video published this week on the Sacramento Association of Realtors’ site, saying county health officials could shut the industry down if they feel buyers, sellers and agents are not behaving in a safe manner.

“This does not mean business as usual,” Tanner said. “If you start acting like it is business as usual, this order will not remain in effect very long.”

“The first person who puts up an open house sign and someone from Sacramento County sees it, that will be the end of this order,” Tanner said. “You must act responsibly. Remember, our mission here is not to sell houses. Our mission here is to save lives. To stop the spread of the virus and to keep everybody as healthy as possible.”

The local real estate agents’ association published a long list of advice to sellers, buyers and agents this week, including:

• Conduct showings virtually, if possible, and conduct transactions electronically, if possible.
• Only a single agent and no more than two other individuals are to be in a dwelling at the same time.
• Sellers should not be in the house when visitors are there.
• Agents should understand safety steps from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
• Six-foot social distancing must be practiced by everyone during a visit
• People must declare that they are not sick before a home visit.
• All property visitors must wash hands prior to entry, wear rubber gloves and a face mask, if one is available.
• Sellers must disclose if they are sick.

In a presentation this week, California Association of Realtors economist Jordin Levine said his group believes the real estate industry will recover more quickly if it and others in the broader economy “pull back” severely on their activities, practice social distancing and help flatten the growth curve of the virus more quickly.

Home sales in Sacramento County were down 12 percent in March from the same month the previous year, according to data compiled by the Sacramento Association of Realtors. Those sales though reflect many deals that were signed in February, before the virus hit, suggesting the hit in mid and late March could prove to be much steeper.

The number of Sacramento-region homes for sale remains low. Real estate data show that many would-be sellers took their homes off the market in March, preferring to sit it out until virus infections peak – possibly in the coming weeks – before beginning to decline.

The numbers of homes coming on the market in recent days appear to be the lowest since the Great Recession ended nearly a decade ago.

Buyers got cold feet as well. Forty-two percent of real estate agents in the state reported they’d had buyers withdraw offers due to coronavirus in March, according to the California Association of Realtors. The number of houses being put on the market for sale and the number of pending sales dropped in mid-March at a time when it normally would be taking off.

The drops are large, but they show that some buyers and sellers are still making deals, according to data published on the Sacramento Appraisal Blog by market analyst Ryan Lundquist.

The number of new listings in the four-county Sacramento, Placer, El Dorado and Yolo area hit 716 during the second week of March, then dropped to 556 in the first week of April. The number of sales dropped more between those two weeks, from 612 to 332.

That is a slightly steeper drop than a similar statewide decrease in the last weeks.

Although the county’s current stay at home order sunsets on May 1, health officials said they could extend it if the virus is still infecting people in the community at that date.

Tony Bizjak

916-321-1059

Tony Bizjak has been reporting for The Bee for 30 years. He covers transportation, housing and development and previously was the paper’s City Hall beat reporter.