Category: News

Effective June 25, the Alameda County Public Health Department is lifting its mask mandate. More information here.

The fire burning on the Pleasanton Ridge is not posing a threat to the Bay East Member Service Center in Pleasanton.  The Center will be open on Friday, June 24.

Effective June 3, masks must be worn in most public indoor settings in Alameda County including real estate open houses. The requirement does not apply to the City of Berkeley. More information here.

REALTORS may have received an email from “Contactnarmember <contactnar.member@gmail.com>” about being qualified for a federal compensation program. This is a scam and do not reply or click on any links.  Questions about the legitimacy of any request from NAR may be answered at 800-874-6500, or via live chat or email.

Bay East has learned that a scammer is targeting vacant listings. An agent was contacted by someone posing as a PG&E employee who asked the agent to tell their client they were delinquent in paying their utility bill and gave bogus instructions on how to pay. Please be cautious if you are contacted by anyone claiming that a client has a delinquent utility bill that must be paid. PG&E has provided more information here.

Effective Tuesday, August 3, real estate professionals and their clients are required to wear face coverings, regardless of vaccination status, during Broker Tours, open house tours, in real estate offices, and other activities that occur indoors in Alameda County.  Additionally, face coverings are required for property showings in Contra Costa, Marin, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, and Sonoma counties.  More counties may be added to this list as additional information is received.

Fueling your Success – The Forest for the Trees

How can real estate professionals make sense of the big picture?  Leslie Appleton-Young, former C.A.R. Chief Economist, shares insights on the real estate profession.

Leslie Appleton-Young served as the Chief Economist for the California Association of REALTORS® for more than 30 years.

 

 

Visit the podcast page, subscribe and start listening today!

The COVID-19 DRE deadline extensions expire June 30, 2021.  DRE alerts licensees and examinees to take action now to beat the upcoming deadline.  Read all the details from the DRE here.

New Open House Rules and Resources:

The Quick Guide from C.A.R. answers many questions about the new Open House rules. Here is the latest information available about Open Houses and property showings:

  • Alameda and Contra Costa counties do not have their own rules about open houses – they are both following the state rules, for now.
  • The Open House and Broker Tour functions in the Paragon System have been reactivated. You can enter this information into the MLS system.
  • If you’re an agent, please check with your Broker and/or Office Manager about your firm’s showing policies.
  • Check the California State Industry Guidance to Reduce Risk for updates to the rules regarding Real Estate Transactions.
  • All in-person showings of properties, like open houses, must follow the indoor gatherings capacity limits in the CDPH gatherings guidance. The Attendance section of the gatherings guidance shows how many people may be in a property based on the County COVID-19  tier.  FYI – Alameda and Contra Costa Counties are currently in the “Orange” tier.  You can find the tier status for other counties here in the “California Blueprint Data Chart.”