Our owner and Designated Broker, Ricky, recently attended a
housing outlook industry panel hosted by Marcus and Millichap, a national
commercial property research and advisory firm; “Rental Housing Outlook and the
Shape of Things to Come”. The panel was
aimed around the pandemic impacts on housing and economic trends - a topic we
know is of high interest right now, and below are some of the notes we’re
sharing with our property owner clients and blog followers.
If you’re interested in a copy of the full presentation, please
let us know by email to office@rd-house.com
·
Some of the most immediate impacts have been logistical
challenges for unit showings and leasing, given state business lockdowns
and social distancing restrictions. In
Washington, Real Estate was fully locked down until counties started moving to
Modified Phase I and Phase II restrictions, and RD House is now doing
modified unit showings which include virtual tours, pre-qualification for
showings, and a focus on social distancing at on-site showings.
·
S Statewide eviction restrictions are in
place across the country, including Washington state. These add some risk to rental property
owners, however RD House has not had any missed or late rent issues to date within
our portfolio. We have been working
closely with tenants to assess any expected rent disruptions due to COVID 19
economic impacts, and will continue to monitor this going forward. Should we become aware of any issues, we have
a number of options we can work through with tenants.

· Also nationally, the housing outlook varies with the
length of lockdowns and the pace of economic recovery, which have both seen
dramatic changes since mid-June. This
remains very much a watch and evaluate situation for markets across the
country.