End of traditional open houses hasn’t halted real estate deals

With open houses officially banned by the Alberta Real Estate Association (AREA), realtors are arming themselves with hand sanitizer and disinfecting wipes as they carry on the business of connecting buyers and sellers. Because they’re still out there.

In the week ending March 22 — the week that schools closed and the beer taps across Alberta stopped running — there were 264 real estate transactions in Calgary and 159 in Edmonton.

“There’s activity. It’s not like we’ve gone to zero,” says Ann-marie Lurie, the Calgary Real Estate Board’s chief economist.

Lurie believes the impact of COVID-19 will be deep but shortlived, and that the potential longterm crisis is more about what’s happening in the energy sector. But in this altered reality, sales will slow down, as will the number of new listings. Those are down 36 per cent over this time last year, which is sort of good news.

“When supply levels come down in tandem with declines in sales, that prevents a steeper price decline. Banks are deferring mortgages and rates are falling. That will help prevent a worst-case scenario and mitigate significant slides in pricing.”

Edmonton realtor Ed Deprato says buyers are nervous and proceeding with caution.

Sellers are closing their doors and not allowing people to see their homes. Some private lenders are temporarily closing their doors, making it difficult for buyers to access capital. He also fears $15 a barrel oil prices but also expresses some optimism.

“I think buyers will quickly realize that they haven’t seen a market this attractive for 15 years,” he says.

In the meantime, his sweet spot is showing the unoccupied properties his company has obtained through a unique program where homes are purchased from sellers who want or need out quickly then sold once vacant.

“We turn the lights on before the buyer arrives, then sanitize before going in, then wipe everything down after they leave,” he says.

Len T. Wong, one of Calgary’s top real estate agents, says things have almost come to a standstill. He stopped holding open houses well before AREA’S official decree to desist, but says traditional open houses aren’t as popular any more because many buyers get the information they need online.

“I think 90 per cent of people start looking online,” Wong says.

In Canmore, an hour west of Calgary, 40 per cent of buyers and sellers are from out of town, says realtor Ben Maize. He and his fellow realtors communicate with clients the old-fashioned way, by telling them about the property. He’ll open his phone and take a video and do a Skype or Facetime tour if required. What’s changed most for him during the pandemic is the opportunity to network with other realtors in the resort town of 15,000.

“Up until now, we’ve seen new listings on our realtor tour every Tuesday. Then we go back to our clients and tell them what’s available and what might be of interest to them. Everyone agreed it would be best to stop the tours right now,” he says.