March 16, 2020
Please Share this Information with Your Real Estate Colleagues --
Please Share this Information with Your Real Estate Colleagues --
Dear Members,
Today Mayor London Breed announced a "shelter in place" public health order for San Francisco beginning at 12:01 a.m. on Tuesday, March 17, 2020 to help prevent the spread of the Coronavirus (COVID-19).
Five other counties, including Santa Clara, San Mateo, Marin, Contra Costa and Alameda counties, are also under a "shelter in place" order.
"Shelter in place" means that residents should stay inside their homes and away from others as much as possible, and only travel outside their homes for essentials like shopping for items such as food and household supplies, and to seek medical care. Additionally, all non-essential businesses must close. For more information, please see the City of San Francisco's website here.
In compliance with the Mayor's "shelter in place" order, we are making these recommendations to the San Francisco real estate community as of tomorrow--Tuesday, March 17, 2020:
- The Broker Tours are suspended for three weeks, and
- Open Houses are not to be held for three weeks.
The San Francisco Association of REALTORS® (SFAR) will consult with the Mayor's office and make an evaluation after the three-week period about whether the Broker Tours and Open Houses should restart.
In the meantime, real estate does not have to come to a complete halt. There are many alternatives to our traditional tours and open houses. There are sellers and buyers who need to continue with their selling and buying efforts and we should be there for them.
That said, following the Mayor's "shelter in place" order is essential to helping slow the spread of COVID-19. SFAR cannot stop agents or companies from acting on their own--but we are asking that as an organization and as a community we act together to help keep each other and our community safe.
Here are three other important updates regarding the operation of SFAR and our services:
- As of 3:00 p.m. today, SFAR's physical office will close in accordance with Mayor Breed's order. Our CEO, Walt Baczkowski, has put a plan in place to ensure SFAR members are supported remotely. Please reach out to staff via email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.,This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., and This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. However, your patience with response time by the SFARMLS staff will be appreciated as they adjust to working remotely and to the increased email and call volume.
- The services of the SFARMLS will continue. MLS and IT Director Jay Pepper-Martens and his team will make sure all aspects of the platform function normally.
- All SFAR committee meetings will be postponed or conducted remotely as we deem necessary or as possible. All scheduled SFAR events will be postponed or done by live stream if appropriate or possible.
Please encourage REALTORS® not to judge or publicly chastise people who have a difference of opinion on how to address this crisis. This is a challenging time and everyone’s situation is unique and deserves to be respected.
Additionally, in compliance with Fair Housing regulations, please be sure to treat all visitors the same; what is asked of one is asked of all. To do otherwise could be deemed discriminatory and a violation of Fair Housing laws.
We will continue to monitor this situation as it develops and will keep you updated on any changes we need to make. This is going to affect us all and will likely do so for some time. Let’s help each other by acting responsibly and together.
Thank you,
Marc
