Same-Sex Marriages Will Stimulate the Real Estate Market

Same-sex marriages will probably lead to more home sales in California, said Patrick Lowell, a Realtor with Zephyr Real Estate in San Francisco — and same-sex divorces will also bring more transactions to real estate agents.

Lowell said that same-sex marriages are so new to California that he hasn’t specifically marketed to newly married same-sex couples, adding, "that is a good target community" for real estate professionals.

Many agents, he said, will probably wait for the outcome of the November ballot initiative before investing heavily in marketing to same-sex newlyweds.

"A lot of agents are waiting for this to play out," he said.

Same-sex marriages will likely trigger more home purchases as individuals decide to sell separately owned homes and move "into one dream home," he said.

"I think it’s going to trigger some market activity. Up until now, people have been hesitant to combine assets. I have a feeling we’re going to see more purchases and sales because of it."

He added, "The other piece: What about gay divorce? I have handled many transactions because of divorce — not that divorce is a good thing, but there always ends up being a house that needs to be sold."

Lowell received a notice from a title company related to the same-sex ruling that assures the title process is basically unchanged for same-sex married couples. "They’re just noting that you don’t need to prove that you had a gay wedding," he said. "They don’t ask for any kind of proof of marriage."

A San Francisco-area sales manager for North American Title Co. sent an e-mail message to real estate professionals last week stating, "Generally speaking, underwriting guidelines for these transactions (by same-sex married couples) will be the same as transactions for heterosexual couples."

And, "The manner in which title is taken in a deed will be the same as our current practices for married persons."

Lowell said that there are a range of new Web sites springing up for same-sex weddings, and that will bring new marketing opportunities for real estate professionals. "There is a ton of opportunity," he said.

View the full article on Inman

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