Why Real Estate & Realtors Are an Essential Service
I don’t know If you heard, but I’m kind of a big deal. I mean, the government of Ontario just said I was an essential business… 😊
The question I want to address today is, why are Realtor’s considered an essential business? Many of us are still grappling with the fact that we are living through a once in a 100-year pandemic; I know what you are probably thinking… it's once in a lifetime experience, but yet the government wants Realtors driving around and showing people properties??
No, not quite; Real Estate has been considered an essential service, but there have been suggested limitations placed so that we can continue to do our job but do it safely. Doing property tours with a family of 4 in your car is not essential. In fact, this is the opposite of what the government wants, and I believe it is not what is intended with this current order.
Realtors are essential because we are a professional service that helps families get access to shelter—a basic human right. To clarify, Realtors do more than assist in the purchase and sale of a property, we also help families lease properties and deal directly with landlords. Put simply, Realtors are there (often behind the scenes) to make sure that the real estate market flows.
A better way to understand why Realtors need to remain open in this crisis is to analyze what would happen if we all stopped working.
Families who have sold their homes and need to buy would be left homeless once their property closes.
Families who have bought a new home but still need to sell their current home would be left carrying 2 mortgages.
Landlords who rely on Realtors to lease their properties would not be able to find tenants easily and vice versa.
This would likely result in sales not closing. Because group 1 would simply refuse to leave their current home if they were going to be homeless. Group 2 would refuse to close on their new property as they likely could not afford 2 mortgages. Group 3 would have to either stop running their regular business to spend time qualifying and finding tenants which would disrupt theirs, along with tons of other businesses.
As you can imagine, a chain of properties not closing would result in a run on the bank as real estate prices would begin to plummet with uncertainty in the market. The last thing we want is for purchases made 2 months ago to not close today because of the Corona crisis. This is the crucial reason why Realtors and real estate services are deemed essential services.
On that point, I do want to make it clear that I do not believe that being deemed ‘essential’ means it’s business as usual. At PC275, I have implemented changes in order to protect our community and avoid viral spread. This includes instructing my team to refuse property showings to buyers, making all appointments with clients virtual, and consistently updating my team with updates as the Covid-19 pandemic changes. We are also only allowing virtual showings (video) at this time, and we are conducting all selling services and documentation via electronic means. We have innovated and developed a 100% virtual process to protect the families who rely on us at this critical time.
So, while we are essential, I believe it is our duty to mitigate any physical interaction. We are not front-line health care workers; we are professionals who ensure the smooth transition of property ownership. This does not require handshakes, only key presses-- and for that I’m thankful!
I hope that the rest of the Realtors in my industry agree and take a firm stance against showing buyers properties in person until they have an accepted offer, and then, only for the purpose of an inspection. However, if we are unable to slow down this viral spread, I could see even that being restricted.
So, in the interest of keeping our economy flowing and our people healthy #StayHome so that we can all #Flattenthecurve.
Please be safe, sanitary and, most importantly, mentally sane!
Thanks for reading,
AJC