Just about every industry across the board has been affected by the Covid-19 crisis. That includes real estate.
There have been some changes to the process of selling homes. Those changes include fewer, if any, open houses to avoid large gatherings to help stop the spread of the coronavirus. Some realtors are encouraging clients to watch virtual open houses on social media, and hosting private showings and virtual tours.
Realtor Cindy Bleiel of Coldwell Banker says she's mainly doing video and phone calls rather than in-person meetings.
"Usually we try to meet with them and go over how things will run,” Bleiel said. “Now we can't do that. It has to be over video or phone call to give them what they'll need. This is very different than what we've always been able to do with our customers."
Bleiel urges people not to panic in the midst of this crisis because the housing market is still strong. She says interest rates are at an all-time low as the government continues to lower their lending rates to the banks and that in turn trickles down to the buyer.