Sound Off: How will vaccines affect real estate?

A: When this pandemic took hold of the Bay Area in March 2020, the shelterinplace rules shut everything down quickly. The governor deemed agents, lenders, inspectors, and title companies to be essential workers, allowing us to service our clients with significant modifications to ensure everyone’s safety.

Many clients delayed their plans but buying or selling a home is a significant milestone in someone’s life and can’t easily be postponed.

Market activity was robust with many transactions throughout the year. I witnessed a general shift away from communal living to singlefamily homes, with outdoor space becoming an essential amenity as everyone sequestered at home.

Now the vaccine is being widely distributed, I see even more activity from buyers and sellers. There’s light at the end of the tunnel, and a renewed hope that people can get back to work, dine in restaurants, tour a museum, take in a movie, and hug our loved ones again.

I believe this trend will continue as we see more distribution and achieve herd immunity. The Bay Area is still a wonderful place to live. Adam Gavzer, Compass, 4155050714, adam@gavzer.com.

A: The news and rollout of vaccinations have already been impacting our real estate market, as we seem to have had the busiest January in recent memory.

Many buyers who left the city for most of 2020 seem to be rolling back in, and as talk of returning to offices and enjoying the restaurants, shopping, and culture of city living is on the horizon, savvy buyers are hoping to find their new homes now for the years to come.

San Francisco still does not allow inperson open houses, though, so it is more important than ever to be working with an agent who is familiar with the submarkets across the city, and can gather as much background information as possible prior to submitting an offer.

The city remains a great place to live. Once a majority of its residents are vaccinated, we welcome the renewed energy and real estate market. Kevin Delmore, Sotheby’s International Realty, 4152033357, kevin.delmore@sothebyshomes.com.

A: The arrival of the vaccine is extremely good news.

On the onset of the coronavirus pandemic and the shelterinplace order, many people started moving in droves out of densely populated cities to suburban communities. They were seeking more spacious living spaces with home offices and outdoor areas.

When the COVID19 vaccine becomes readily available to all groups we will see a gradual return to the cities. Rents have declined and this will contribute to the return.

The Bay Area real estate market has been very resilient despite the pandemic and all predictions for 2021 is that we will continue to experience a strong real estate market. Kathleen Daly, Coldwell Banker, 4155196074, kdaly@cbnorcal.com; Lisa Lange, Coldwell Banker, 4158477770, lisalange@coldwellbanker.com.