The state of Colorado mounted pressure Thursday, April 9, on real estate agents and builders to avoid even private, individual showings of properties to their clients, to maintain social distancing as the state heads into what may be the peak of the coronavirus emergency.
But a month after many public activities were halted and 2½ weeks into the governor’s stay-at-home order, many agents were marveling at how resilient the market had stayed despite the restrictions — and were anxious to keep that vibrancy for whenever the constraints can be eased.
“The market has not been affected seriously yet,” says Jim Smith, broker/owner of Golden Real Estate, covering Golden, Arvada and Lakewood. “I’m surprised by how many buyers are still able to consummate a purchase.”
Smith adds that one of his agents had a virtual closing for a property Tuesday, and that he has three closings scheduled next week, all of which he expects to proceed. Meanwhile, he’s not happy with some media accounts that painted a picture suggesting that nervous sellers were pulling listings.
Despite a relatively small number of homes that sellers allowed to go inactive last month, some 8,122 new listings were put up for sale in the Denver metro market — considerably more than were listed during March 2019 — and around 3,500 of those quickly went under contract, Smith notes.
Smith and other agents are adept at tech adaptations, including video tours and video conferencing, to keep clients served while showings aren’t possible. But he’s troubled by losing some capabilities.
“Not allowing in-person showing will probably depress the market a little,” he says. “People are still wanting to sell, and others are able and wanting to buy.”
“We’re doing everything we can to maintain business,” says Walter “Buz” Koelbel Jr., president and CEO of Koelbel and Company, with a 67-year history of residential development in Denver.
Koelbel’s sales team has been showing new homes in Lowry and other areas by appointment only, while wearing masks and encouraging virtual tours.
But a clarification updated Thursday by Colorado’s Real Estate Division under the Department of Regulatory Agencies warned that “showing a property or conducting an open house in-person during the COVID-19 pandemic shall be avoided.” The order suggested some leeway, but only for closings, inspections and final walkthroughs.
“The big issue is a function of when we can put Colorado back to work,” Koelbel says. “April 30 is a key date, when we hope that all containment efforts have been successful enough that we can start working in a deliberate manner back toward normalcy.”
“Saying no in-person showings at all is pretty restrictive,” adds Kentwood’s Dawn Raymond, a top-selling agent with $136 million in sales last year. “This was shaping up to be a really strong spring, but people are hesitant to transact unless they must make a move right now and can’t wait.”
Kentwood, she says, gives its agents plenty of capability to help clients “virtually” navigate the market, and says that she’s gone out of her way to keep clients safe during the emergency.
All agents make the point that real estate sales are often not an option for clients, but rather are required by life events.
“We’re only working with clients that have real need to buy or sell now,” Raymond says. “There’s a relocation or they’ve lost a job due to the crisis.”
“Everyone in my office has been distancing; we have an obligation to our clients,” says Denice Reich of Re/Max Alliance, selling in Cherry Creek and other east Denver neighborhoods, not happy with the AG’s clarification.
After the initial stay-at-home went into effect, a neighbor confronted her as she was showing a house off Sixth Avenue Parkway to buyers that had arranged a private showing. That night, two offers came in and the home went under contract.
The seller called her in tears, Reich says. “You don’t know how much we appreciate your having sold the house,” Reich recalls her saying.
The news and editorial staffs of The Denver Post had no role in this postap preparation.