Canadian Real Estate in the year of Covid-19
2020 spurred immense change within industries and our economies worldwide - real estate is no different. The industry was put to the test and agents along with clients were forced to pivot and find solutions in creating safe and successful procedures.
Due to the industry’s responsiveness, real estate succeeded in remaining a vital part of Canadian life. While the spring was slow when initial Covid-19 restrictions rolled out, July flipped that market upside down and sales have seen historically high levels according to the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA), which tracks statistics of the industry.
“As we’ve moved through the last few months of headline-grabbing data, we’ve seen sales activity for the year-to-date not just catch up with last year, which was surprising enough, but at this point activity in 2020 has a real shot at setting an annual record. Many reasons have been suggested for why this is when many traditional drivers of the market, economic growth, employment and confidence in particular, are currently so weak,” said Shaun Cathcart, CREA’s Senior Economist. “Something worth considering is how many households are choosing to pull up stakes and move as a result of Covid-19 and all the associated changes to our lives. We could be seeing a lot of moves, or churn in the market, that would not have happened in a non-Covid world.”
Real Estate is an industry where moving with the times and keeping-up with client trends are essential, so it was no surprise that with government health restrictions barrelling down, agents and brokers picked-up pace and grabbed at technology and procedures that would enable this continued demand in market.
Christi Hollingshead is a realtor with the Crowsnest Real Estate Centre, based in rural Southern Alberta. Just as in cities across Canada, rural agents have taken advantage of technology in connecting clients to new homes.
“With all the technology available like Matterport, IGuide, drone videos and virtual open houses we can provide our clients with other options rather than just the traditional viewing of a property,” explained Hollingshead.
Virtual showings have been beneficial for local house hunters as well as allowed for an increase in the demand from international buyers. In the rural Alberta area of Castle Mountain, realtor Randy Whitehead said he experienced an increase of sales from buyers out of locations like China, who now feel comfortable purchasing of a ski cabin as an investment based on virtual tours.
Another reason the industry seems to have been so successful in adapting to this year’s challenge, was in the communication between agent and client. Agents banned together in following unified safety measures and in relaying those to clients. This swift and unified communication with buyers and sellers ensured confidence within the market. Some of these measures included: employing stringent hand-cleansing routines, limits on the amount of people during each viewing, masks, limited touch of surfaces and not sharing vehicles to a showing. Standardized health screenings were also used prior to each viewing or meeting.
As 2020 wraps and Christmas season is upon us, here are a few tips for sellers in how to be one of this year’s success stories.
- 1. Always have a bottle soap dispenser and clean towels in the washrooms. You also want to ensure surfaces throughout the house is visibly clean, including any home decorations you pulled from storage for the season. Wipe, dust, and check for fingerprints.
- 2. Show home viewers that you take safety seriously by placing hand santizer near the front and back entrances.
- 3. Holiday decorations are fine to have on display while your home is listed, but make sure that they are not over the top and taking focus away from your home.
- 4. Communicate with your agent to only schedule a showing when the house can be in premium conditions. Christmas time can be busy for families, so keep your holiday plans in mind.
Best of luck to all buyers and sellers for the remainder of 2020 – and here’s to a continued successful housing trend in 2021.
