Realtors have always wanted their listings to be tidy and smell nice, ideally like fresh-baked bread. Now they prefer the aroma of Lysol.
While COVID-19 has made the real estate open house a thing of the past, and doldrums doesn’t begin to describe the state of the market across Canada (stats released Friday have sales down 57 per cent), savvy realtors are turning to technology.
“When we get a listing we give the option of virtual tours, which consist of photos, video and what’s called Matterport, a virtual tour you can interact with. So instead of physically walking through the home, this program allows you to virtually walk through…so it gives you a three-dimensional look at the home without touching anything,” said Shane Anderson, a realtor with Royal LePage’s Pike Group in Halifax
Anderson said his group has been using video for years, which has allowed his colleagues to stay ahead of the curve in embracing technology that the coronavirus is making necessary.
“We want to minimize, for obvious reasons, the number of people going into somebody’s home,” he said. “Everybody going in has to have a mask and gloves. And they can’t bring their parents, their grandparents, their kids, coming in. It’s the buyer. The person writing the cheque, or the couple, is the only one allowed to go into the property, along with the agent.
“The agent goes in, turns all the lights on and opens all the doors, so that way the person coming in doesn’t touch anything. They just walk through the home, and the shorter time, the better.”
As well, prospective buyers are now only allowed to visit one property per day, and have to sign a document declaring they haven’t been out of the province.
“What that does, which I think is good for the business going forward when this is over, is weed out the tire kickers. That’s the whole purpose of having virtual tours, and it’s one of the questions we ask the agent (representing a buyer): is your client pre-approved…has your client watched the virtual tour? And we want a financing letter. If you answer yes to all this and they still want to proceed, then they can book a showing,” Anderson said.
“The big thing now is confirming job security. Has your income been affected by the pandemic? I’ve had deals fall through because they’ve been fired or laid off.”
“The agent goes in, turns all the lights on and opens all the doors, so that way the person coming in doesn’t touch anything. They just walk through the home, and the shorter time, the better.”
– Shane Anderson, Royal LePage’s Pike Group
Anderson himself has remained busy, but home sales and new listings in Nova Scotia have dropped to their lowest levels in at least 25 years.
Residential sales activity recorded through the Nova Scotia Association of Realtors declined 47 per cent in April, as compared to a year ago. The average price of homes sold in April 2020 was $265,981, edging up 3.5 per cent from April 2019.
The picture is a little brighter on Prince Edward Island. Canadian Real Estate Association figures for March show a 4.8 per cent decrease compared to March 2019. In the first three months of 2020, P.E.I. had 327 homes sold, a 10.1 per cent increase compared to the same time period in 2019.
The 150 new residential listings in March 2020 was a 33-per-cent decrease compared to the previous year. The average price of homes sold in March 2020 increased by 19.6 per cent, to $273,206, compared to March 2019.
Realtors on the island have gone high-tech, too, and it’s already a well-established habit for Michael Poczynek of Century 21 Northumberland Realty.
He was using video technology and analytics as a main way of marketing and selling homes long before the pandemic hit.
“It’s all about leveraging technology and it’s about spending money. We spent probably $2,000 or $3,000 over the last few weeks just experimenting with some stuff we’re doing on Google and on YouTube. But at the end of the day, it paid off because initially we were only getting about 4,400 views (on Youtube) in seven to 10 days. Now we’ve got almost over 20,000 views, spending the same amount of money,” said Poczynek.
Poczynek, who’s been an agent for 21 years, is active on social media and writes a blog. He recently improved the quality of his video productions by investing in cameras with a 360-degree view.
The technology allows potential buyers to see a home and decide if they want to view it in person. The technology, along with analytics, allows Poczynek to sell homes on P.E.I. to off-Island potential buyers “sight unseen.”
“It’s my job as an agent to market P.E.I. to potential buyers. I don’t guess. I don’t think, well, maybe they’re in B.C. (or) Utah. I can see through statistical analysis and the reports that Google and YouTube give us, and keyword tools … where the buyers are coming from,” he said.
That approach has paid off. He’s well-known on the Island for selling a mansion in Cable Head East for $4.75-million, at the time a record amount for the province.
Even with the pandemic, he still shows houses in person, taking the necessary safety precautions. But he has also turned people away from seeing a home in person when he feels they aren’t taking safety precautions seriously.
“My number one concern is the health of my clients,” he said.
No drives and a wipedown
Carol O’Hanley, co-owner of Exit Realty P.E.I. with her husband Steve Yoston, has 26 real estate agents across the province.
She said the first priority of showing homes during COVID-19 is making sure the seller is comfortable with people going through their home. Sometimes that’s not the case, especially when a seller has a medical condition.
If the seller is comfortable with an in-person showing, the agent and potential buyer are required to wear gloves and sanitize any part of the home that has been touched.
An agent and potential buyer can wear masks but O’Hanley said it’s not a requirement.
To maintain physical distancing, agents won’t drive potential buyers to a showing, and after the showing, the seller is instructed to wipe down the home.
Buyers and sellers also have to sign a waiver before an in-person showing to ensure they haven’t been outside the province in the previous 14 days and that they’re not showing signs of COVID-19.
O’Hanley said the P.E.I. real estate market hasn’t seen any drastic differences because of the pandemic, but there may be some changes yet to come. She added that potential buyers can take advantage of lower interest rates, but prices haven’t changed the way they have in other Canadian cities and provinces.
“I think people are under the assumption that prices are going to go down. But personally, and with our company, we haven’t really seen that yet,” she said. “Buyers might have the impression that sellers will take less because of the situation. We’re not finding that.”
TORONTO – The Toronto Regional Real Estate Board says home sales in October surged as buyers continued moving off the sidelines amid lower interest rates.
The board said 6,658 homes changed hands last month in the Greater Toronto Area, up 44.4 per cent compared with 4,611 in the same month last year. Sales were up 14 per cent from September on a seasonally adjusted basis.
The average selling price was up 1.1 per cent compared with a year earlier at $1,135,215. The composite benchmark price, meant to represent the typical home, was down 3.3 per cent year-over-year.
“While we are still early in the Bank of Canada’s rate cutting cycle, it definitely does appear that an increasing number of buyers moved off the sidelines and back into the marketplace in October,” said TRREB president Jennifer Pearce in a news release.
“The positive affordability picture brought about by lower borrowing costs and relatively flat home prices prompted this improvement in market activity.”
The Bank of Canada has slashed its key interest rate four times since June, including a half-percentage point cut on Oct. 23. The rate now stands at 3.75 per cent, down from the high of five per cent that deterred many would-be buyers from the housing market.
New listings last month totalled 15,328, up 4.3 per cent from a year earlier.
In the City of Toronto, there were 2,509 sales last month, a 37.6 per cent jump from October 2023. Throughout the rest of the GTA, home sales rose 48.9 per cent to 4,149.
The sales uptick is encouraging, said Cameron Forbes, general manager and broker for Re/Max Realtron Realty Inc., who added the figures for October were stronger than he anticipated.
“I thought they’d be up for sure, but not necessarily that much,” said Forbes.
“Obviously, the 50 basis points was certainly a great move in the right direction. I just thought it would take more to get things going.”
He said it shows confidence in the market is returning faster than expected, especially among existing homeowners looking for a new property.
“The average consumer who’s employed and may have been able to get some increases in their wages over the last little bit to make up some ground with inflation, I think they’re confident, so they’re looking in the market.
“The conditions are nice because you’ve got a little more time, you’ve got more choice, you’ve got fewer other buyers to compete against.”
All property types saw more sales in October compared with a year ago throughout the GTA.
Townhouses led the surge with 56.8 per cent more sales, followed by detached homes at 46.6 per cent and semi-detached homes at 44 per cent. There were 33.4 per cent more condos that changed hands year-over-year.
“Market conditions did tighten in October, but there is still a lot of inventory and therefore choice for homebuyers,” said TRREB chief market analyst Jason Mercer.
“This choice will keep home price growth moderate over the next few months. However, as inventory is absorbed and home construction continues to lag population growth, selling price growth will accelerate, likely as we move through the spring of 2025.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 6, 2024.
HALIFAX – A village of tiny homes is set to open next month in a Halifax suburb, the latest project by the provincial government to address homelessness.
Located in Lower Sackville, N.S., the tiny home community will house up to 34 people when the first 26 units open Nov. 4.
Another 35 people are scheduled to move in when construction on another 29 units should be complete in December, under a partnership between the province, the Halifax Regional Municipality, United Way Halifax, The Shaw Group and Dexter Construction.
The province invested $9.4 million to build the village and will contribute $935,000 annually for operating costs.
Residents have been chosen from a list of people experiencing homelessness maintained by the Affordable Housing Association of Nova Scotia.
They will pay rent that is tied to their income for a unit that is fully furnished with a private bathroom, shower and a kitchen equipped with a cooktop, small fridge and microwave.
The Atlantic Community Shelters Society will also provide support to residents, ranging from counselling and mental health supports to employment and educational services.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 24, 2024.
Housing affordability is a key issue in the provincial election campaign in British Columbia, particularly in major centres.
Here are some statistics about housing in B.C. from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation’s 2024 Rental Market Report, issued in January, and the B.C. Real Estate Association’s August 2024 report.
Average residential home price in B.C.: $938,500
Average price in greater Vancouver (2024 year to date): $1,304,438
Average price in greater Victoria (2024 year to date): $979,103
Average price in the Okanagan (2024 year to date): $748,015
Average two-bedroom purpose-built rental in Vancouver: $2,181
Average two-bedroom purpose-built rental in Victoria: $1,839
Average two-bedroom purpose-built rental in Canada: $1,359
Rental vacancy rate in Vancouver: 0.9 per cent
How much more do new renters in Vancouver pay compared with renters who have occupied their home for at least a year: 27 per cent
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 17, 2024.
