Real Estate board recommends that realtors refrain from holding open houses

With concerns about the spread of COVID-19, the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (of which the Sunshine Coast is part) strongly recommends that realtors refrain from holding open houses. They are making this recommendation after consulting with the broker community and assessing the latest information and commentary from public health and other government authorities.
“It’s important that all of us in the real estate profession do our part to help prevent the further spread of illness in our communities,” Ashley Smith, REBGV president, said. “This is one step we can and should all take immediately as good corporate citizens.”
Showings are still allowed in tenanted properties as long as COVID-19 protocols are followed. Realtors representing landlords looking to sell are encouraged to use technology such as floor plans, professional photo’s and virtual tours to minimize the impact on tenants. This is good practice even when there isn’t a pandemic as it eliminates unnecessary showings.
In keeping with the social distancing recommendations from health care officials, realtors are encouraged to use strict control measures to limit the number of people who view a home at one time, ask participants to sanitize their hands before and after a showing and encourage them to avoid touching doorknobs and other surfaces in the property. Masks are also mandatory.
Much like what happened earlier in the year, I expect these new or re-applied restrictions to fuel a busy spring market. A vaccine is not expected to be readily available in the short-term but, even if it was, that will not stop families migrating to the Sunshine Coast.
Now that parents with Vancouver-based jobs don’t have to report to a centralized office, the ferries are no longer a barrier to our market and buying here has become a viable option. This demographic will grow and eventually surpass the retirees that have always migrated to the Coast.
On the commercial side of things, we are seeing an increased demand for small office spaces as companies are giving employees allowances to rent local space. There are also more buyers looking at buying businesses and leasing space as part of the BC PNP – Regional Pilot programs on the Coast.
Tony Browton is an award-winning realtor who lives and works on BC’s
Sunshine Coast.
His weekly blog can be found here http://www.true
bluerealty.ca/blog.