COVID-19 and Comox Valley real estate. Yes, we are open for business. Real estate services were declared an essential service by the government of BC. Many award-winning realtors are still working and helping their clients buy and sell homes. There has been a great deal of confusion and fear generated by the government on this virus and the propaganda on the news has been continuous. Fear not, the real estate industry has been given some guidelines so that we can continue to work with you to provide real estate services.
The World Health Organization provides us guidance on the use of masks in the context of COVID-19 . The document provides advice on the use of masks in communities, during home care, and in health care settings in areas that have reported cases of COVID-19. It is intended for individuals in the community, public health and infection prevention and control (IPC) professionals, health care managers, health care workers (HCWs), and community health workers. This updated version includes a section on Advice to decision makers on the use of masks for healthy people in community settings. Under Community settings it states:
Studies of influenza, influenza-like illness, and human coronaviruses provide evidence that the use of a medical mask can prevent the spread of infectious droplets from an infected person to someone else and potential contamination of the environment by these droplets. There is limited evidence that wearing a medical mask by healthy individuals in the households or among contacts of a sick patient, or among attendees of mass gatherings may be beneficial as a preventive measure. However, there is currently no evidence that wearing a mask (whether medical or other types) by healthy persons in the wider community setting, including universal community masking, can prevent them from infection with respiratory viruses, including COVID-19.
A study conducted by the National Academy of Sciences dated April 8, 2020, examined the effectiveness of homemade fabric masks in protecting others. They concluded:
The current level of benefit, if any, is not possible to assess.
According to the US Center for Disease Control (CDC), the virus spreads mainly through close contact from person to person through respiratory droplets from an infected person who coughs, sneezes or talks in close proximity to someone else. So, perhaps some common sense is needed in conjunction to what these health experts are telling us above. One interpretation could be:
Forget the masks – just stay away from someone who is coughing or sneezing and do not come in close physical contact with someone you do not know.
So, based on a more liberal application of common sense, there is NO need to be fearful of this virus that the top health bureaucrat (Dr Fauci) in the US describes in his March 26, 2020 editorial in the New England Journal of Medicine on COVID-19 – Navigating the Uncharted in which he states:
This suggests that the overall clinical consequences of Covid-19 may ultimately be more akin to those of a severe seasonal influenza (which has a case fatality rate of approximately 0.1%) or a pandemic influenza (similar to those in 1957 and 1968) rather than a disease similar to SARS or MERS, which have had case fatality rates of 9 to 10% and 36%, respectively.
Back then to real estate. Using a bit of common sense and a few precautions, buyers and sellers should be able to continue to sell and buy homes with the help of a competent real estate agent without an irrational fear that can be generated by the propaganda currently being employed on television and through other media. People, continue to live your lives and look forward to an enjoyable and rewarding real estate experience.
The real estate market in the Comox Valley has once again been energized and it is now active. A few recent multiple offers should show us that many people are once again in the house buying and selling mindset. However, there is not a great deal on the market when compared to years past. For example, all of the custom and semi-custom homes in Crown Isle being offered on the resale market are numbered in the “less than 30” spectrum. Asking prices range from just under $700,000 to over $1.2 million. So, if you are in that market perhaps now is the time to move forward and find your dream home in a great upscale neighbourhood.
The City of Courtenay has even more to offer an aspiring home shopper. Courtenay offers many different styles, types and price ranges from which to shop for homes. There are about one hundred and fifty homes on the market at this time of year. Single family homes can be found in the low $400,000 range up to around $2 million so if you are looking for options now is a good time to look. If you are a seller, buyers are becoming increasingly active so contact a great award-winning realtor and get the listing process underway.
Next is the Town of Comox. There are about 60 homes on the single-family housing market at this time of year. The asking price of most homes exceeds the $500,000 threshold and the odd home will hit the market above $2 million. Once again, why not get out and start looking for your next dream home in this quiet ocean-side community with terrific views of the ocean, mountains, and even the nearest glacier, a short distance away. Scenic paradise and great people. What more can you ask for when considering quality of life and a new unhurried lifestyle far from the hustle and bustle of the nearby mainland?