As social distancing becomes a part of daily life on P.E.I., local real estate agents say they’re changing the way they do business as they navigate the COVID-19 pandemic.
Typically, Charlottetown real estate agent Kevin Quin says he has no trouble helping potential home buyers take a peek at a property they’re interested in purchasing but since the emergence of COVID-19 on P.E.I., that’s changed.
“Ordinarily, as soon as you get a request for a show, you’ll be in your car, at the door and go to the showing,” Quinn said.
“You’re a little bit reluctant to do that [right now] because, of course, we want to try and keep our distance from clients and not put them at risk or put yourself at risk.”
P.E.I.’s chief public health officer Dr. Heather Morrison has laid out several health recommendations in an effort to protect the public from contracting and spreading the coronavirus, which include social distancing and self-isolation upon return from international or interprovincial travel.
‘The market’s pretty much shut down,’ says Island realtor Laurie Carruthers. (Kelly Bennett/CBC)
Quinn said he received a request on Thursday to show one of his listed properties. The house is currently vacant, its owners do live not there.
Should he choose to show the listing, he said he’ll be sure to maintain a 2-metre distance from the prospective buyer and wipe down any surfaces touched.
If a prospective buyer becomes interested in one of his properties where the owners do currently reside in the home, he said he would push back the viewing to a later date, when health risks are minimized.
The market’s pretty much shut down.— Laurie Carruthers, Island real estate agent
Island real estate agent Laurie Carruthers said she’s hesitant to do any home showings amid COIVD-19.
“I would say there’s a lockbox on the door. Help yourself. I’d be too scared. Too much of a germ-a-phobe,” said Laurie Carruthers who only sells new vacant homes.
The way the market looks, Carruthers said people buying need to be in a position where they have disposable income — enough to afford a second property — since sales are so low.
People who are in a position where they have to sell their property in order to be able to purchase will find the market challenging.
We’ve definitely come to a halt.— Wendy Flemming, Island real estate agent
“The market’s pretty much shut down,” she said.
After having two potential sales fall through in the past week, there was good news Thursday for Carruthers, who said she sold a $500,000 listing.
But for many other realtors, business is remains slow.
Postponing showings, open houses
“People don’t want to purchase homes if they can’t go in and have a look at them,” said Wendy Flemming who has been a realtor for the past 12 years.
“We’ve definitely come to a halt,” she said.
Flemming said she’s been postponing showings and open houses for about a week.
She said the curent situation is frustrating for real estate agents and buyers alike — especially with the plummet of the current interest rate down to .78 per cent.
Despite COVID-19, photos and virtual tours of listings continue to be accessible for prospective buyers online, she said.
In addition, in an effort to adapt to the new health recommendations which limit people’s ability to see listings in-person, Flemming said when people buy a property they can include a condition which stipulates that the purchase is conditional upon an in-person viewing at a later date.
“It’s difficult times,” she said.
COVID-19: What you need to know
What are the symptoms of COVID-19?
Common symptoms include:
Fever.
Cough.
Tiredness.
But more serious symptoms can develop, including difficulty breathing and pneumonia, which can lead to death.
TORONTO – One expert predicts Ottawa‘s changes to mortgage rules will help spur demand among potential homebuyers but says policies aimed at driving new supply are needed to address the “core issues” facing the market.
The federal government’s changes, set to come into force mid-December, include a higher price cap for insured mortgages to allow more people to qualify for a mortgage with less than a 20 per cent down payment.
The government will also expand its 30-year mortgage amortization to include first-time homebuyers buying any type of home, as well as anybody buying a newly built home.
CIBC Capital Markets deputy chief economist Benjamin Tal calls it a “significant” move likely to accelerate the recovery of the housing market, a process already underway as interest rates have begun to fall.
However, he says in a note that policymakers should aim to “prevent that from becoming too much of a good thing” through policies geared toward the supply side.
Tal says the main issue is the lack of supply available to respond to Canada’s rapidly increasing population, particularly in major cities.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17,2024.
OTTAWA – The Canadian Real Estate Association says the number of homes sold in August fell compared with a year ago as the market remained largely stuck in a holding pattern despite borrowing costs beginning to come down.
The association says the number of homes sold in August fell 2.1 per cent compared with the same month last year.
On a seasonally adjusted month-over-month basis, national home sales edged up 1.3 per cent from July.
CREA senior economist Shaun Cathcart says that with forecasts of lower interest rates throughout the rest of this year and into 2025, “it makes sense that prospective buyers might continue to hold off for improved affordability, especially since prices are still well behaved in most of the country.”
The national average sale price for August amounted to $649,100, a 0.1 per cent increase compared with a year earlier.
The number of newly listed properties was up 1.1 per cent month-over-month.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2024.
MONTREAL – Two Quebec real estate brokers are facing fines and years-long suspensions for submitting bogus offers on homes to drive up prices during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Christine Girouard has been suspended for 14 years and her business partner, Jonathan Dauphinais-Fortin, has been suspended for nine years after Quebec’s authority of real estate brokerage found they used fake bids to get buyers to raise their offers.
Girouard is a well-known broker who previously starred on a Quebec reality show that follows top real estate agents in the province.
She is facing a fine of $50,000, while Dauphinais-Fortin has been fined $10,000.
The two brokers were suspended in May 2023 after La Presse published an article about their practices.
One buyer ended up paying $40,000 more than his initial offer in 2022 after Girouard and Dauphinais-Fortin concocted a second bid on the house he wanted to buy.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2024.
