The most common question I get from clients of late – buyers and sellers alike – is “what’s it like to buy/sell a house right now?” The short answer is: not much different than buying/selling a house at any other time. The long answer: well, it is different in some key ways.
First and foremost, those of us conducting real estate right now want to keep people safe. We want to do the very best for our clients, as always. But that means doing our best to keep them safe while also getting them the house of their dreams and/or selling their house with an optimal outcome. To this end, the first big change to the home buying and selling process in the time of COVID-19 has been the huge shift to virtual options.
We’ve had the options of 3D virtual tours, video tours, virtual showings, and virtual open houses for a long time now. But when we could be face-to-face with most folks most of the time, virtual was more seen as a nice-to-have versus a must-have. During a pandemic, when we need to limit in-person contacts for everyone, virtual has taken center stage and become an absolute must.
All of my listings now have 3D virtual tours and video tours. I offer virtual showings to all of my buyers, and make them available on all of my listings. I am starting to offer virtual open houses on all of my listings. This takes what used to be a much less accessible and much more time consuming process for buyers and potential buyers, and makes it accessible to everyone and much less time consuming.
For instance, if buyers are interested in ten homes, but they can narrow that down to two homes by viewing 3D tours and/or having virtual showings – guess how much time they save, let alone how much less driving has to happen? It’s a win-win for people and the planet. And it allows me to more efficiently and effectively serve my clients, hooray! Additionally, those folks just beginning the process, who may not yet have an agent helping them, have full access to homes virtually. It helps them dream and plan, and it can also help them find THE one!
So a much bigger push to virtual is the first key change to buying and selling homes in the time of COVID-19. And with the need to rethink how we do business longer-term for the sake of our planet, this is a change I believe will stick around. Even when we can conduct business more readily in person again.
Stay tuned for more soon!