I guess this swine flu thing is really starting to take hold.  According to a front page article in today’s Washington Post at least one school in Rockville, MD has closed because of the swine flu outbreak.  No one is calling it a pandemic yet but people are starting to “close up shop” because of it.

Will Swine Flu Affect Real Estate Sales?

This si a great question.  Just when the media were getting around to reporting positive news about a possible “bottom” to the real estate market we now have the media blowing full blast into this swine flu thing. Sure, swine flu is something to be concerned about. Sure, swine flu is something to take preventive steps to stop.  However, has it really spread as far and wide as the media would have us think?  More to the point, does a couple of hundred cases or even a couple of thousand cases really mean a lot in a country with over 200,000,000 people?

I don’t know.  I’m not a doctor and I don’t play one on TV.  I don’t work in the public health sector.  I’m just a regular schmoe Realtor who thinks that maybe the swine flu thing is being blown out of proportion by a media that has nothing better to do.

Can I see myself showing homes to potential home buyers with a face mask and bottle of Purell® in the glove compartment?  I don’t think so. If  a client who is also financially qualified to make a purchase (i.e., pre-qualified or pre-approved for a mortgage) I am more than willing to show them homes that meet their criteria.  I’m pretty sure that other Realtors would do the same and I’m almost positive that all the other professionals involved in the real estate process — mortgage professionals, appraisers, home inspectors, title company settlement officers — will also be “on the job” making sure the wheels keep turning.

An Ounce of Prevention is Worth a Pound of Cure

There is a lot to be said for that old cliche´.

If you have your house on the market, it’s probably a good idea to keep it clean and to make sure that you and your family are doing everything it can to prevent yourselves from getting sick.

Click Here for a information sheet from Johns Hopkins Medicine about the signs of swine flu and what to do to prevent it.

Signs of Swine Flu – Johns Hopkins Medicine

Thanks to my great lender associate — Alan Gross of National City Mortgage — for providing this timely information.