Being Home, Sweet Home
Local Realtors Weigh In On The New Normal
Compiled by Cara DeGette
Editor, GPHN
Like most everyone else, most local realtors are working from home, but with a twist – their business, of course, is helping people buy and sell homes. They have had to make some dramatic adjustments to their day-to-day routines since the outbreak, relying more heavily on virtual showings and virtual open houses and otherwise moving much of their operations online.
We asked a few longtime local real estate professionals to weigh in with what they are doing, how they have adjusted, and what they predict for the local housing market in coming months. Here are their responses.
Natalie Hengel
8z Real Estate
A recession does not equal a housing crash. Nationally during three out of the last five recessions, home prices have appreciated. In Colorado, home prices have appreciated four out of the last five recessions.
Prior to this virus’s impact on our lives and community, this spring had been one of the most competitive environments I have operated in due to many years of consistent demand and limited inventory, strong jobs and low interest rates. Over a month into this you’re probably not surprised to hear that properties are still being listed, going under contract and selling. Here and in most of the country, real estate and related services as well as construction are being deemed as “essential services” to enable those that need to buy, sell or rent to do so. COVID-19 has changed the way business is being done, but we’re still helping people buy and sell homes.
Yet while we are out there serving the clients that need us, we are starting to see some new occurrences in the market that have not been a part of the real estate landscape in recent years. This includes increases in the number of terminated contracts and withdrawn properties, buyers becoming more emboldened from the seller’s market we’ve been operating in for the past five-plus years (price reductions, longer closings, etc.), and some general hesitancy to consider buying or selling real estate while things are so turbulent.
Every market provides opportunity. What are the opportunities in this market?
- Less buyer demand, less competition
- Low interest rates
- Potential negotiation room to get good terms
Chris Merman
LIV Sotheby’s International Realty
Although my pipeline of business will be disrupted in the next few months, I feel like there is going to be a huge amount of pent-up demand for both buyers and sellers based on our extremely low housing inventory levels both in Park Hill and metro-wide.
Early on in the Denver market, we had to confront some confusing messaging about how we conduct business from state and local government, the National Association of Realtors, and the Colorado Real Estate commission. After we sorted out what the rules and expectations were, we did our best to manage those expectations for our clients. Wearing masks, providing sanitizer, recommending gloves, and not touching surfaces became the norm for showings.
Unfortunately, the ruling came down that real estate showings would end. This sent shock waves to our industry. The good news? The real estate market remains strong in most every price range, values are remaining high, properties are selling quickly, and prices are not spiraling down.
Although we are not able to physically show property, we are leveraging technology to take advantage of this challenging market due to COVID-19. More people are shopping for homes via the internet then ever before. Although showings have stopped for the meantime, prospective buyers for homes in Park Hill are hungry for more inventory and properties are indeed selling. There is no blood in the street and we are not seeing a “COVID-19″ discount” for buyers in this market. We are lucky in the metro area to have a strong real estate market going into this crisis, which will help us to bounce back even stronger moving forward. There will be a huge pent-up demand with buyers and sellers getting off the fence and moving forward with their lives.
Nina Kuhl, Steve LaPorta, Roberta Locke, Ann Torgerson
HomeSmart Cherry Creek
Real estate has been forced to adapt during the stay-at-home ordinance since marketing and showing homes in-person is not considered essential. We have adjusted our business to connect with clients, contractors and other agents virtually using tools such as Zoom and Facetime. With new listings, we are increasing our online presence to buyers with video and 3D tours and can even conduct a tour of a home without stepping foot into it.
For agent Ann Torgerson one of the challenges is how to balance sharing her office space and technology with her homebound spouse and college-aged children. On top of that, it takes coordinated effort just to keep everyone on a schedule and fed. Ann has found that the pandemic has made her more flexible and creative on how to handle her business.
We are often asked, what is happening to the real estate market? Agent Nina Kuhl suggests, “Unlike the 2008 financial crisis, this recession is due to a global pandemic and not due to the economy or weak mortgage lending rules. With low interest rates and limited amount of homes for sale, the Denver metro housing market should stay steady once restrictions have been lifted.”
We don’t have a crystal ball but our words of wisdom are, don’t panic. The housing market was solid before the pandemic and it will rebound.
Marcy Eastman
Compass Realty
While working at home isn’t necessarily new for realtors, we’ve had a busy month innovating around this environment of social distancing and stay-at-home directive. We as a team have really been disciplined around only leaving our homes for truly essential activities.
We’ve been closing out existing transactions safely with single person inspection and appraisal methods, curbside closings, and lots and lots of phone calls and video conferencing. For incoming clients, we’ve been doing online touring and video listing consults to keep everyone distanced.
Innovating around the obstacles created by social distancing and stay-at-home orders have kept us working but the pause button has been pressed on our spring market.
The short-term impact has been a temporary withdrawal of a significant number of homes from the market, some tricky lending issues around stable employment and market liquidity, and some softer pricing. I am optimistic about the “bounce back” of our market here in Denver. We have an equity cushion, inventory cushion and extremely low interest rates. There are many people who have been purchasing while we have been social distancing.
Judy Wolfe, Jay Epperson
Compass Colorado
How do you sell real estate during a pandemic? Virtually. Since the shelter-in-place order was put into effect, we have not been allowed to show homes in person. Nor have we been able to perform any of the things we typically do to get a house market ready. No staging, no photos, no videos. We have a listing at 4061 E. 19th Ave. that went on the market just prior to when the no-showings edict went into effect. Fortunately, we already had photos, staging, measuring and floor plans done. We were able to post all of this in the MLS system and on public real estate web sites.
With no showings or open houses allowed, we are able to use our Compass tools for a virtual showing and a seller-created video tour for buyers to review online or via a personal call between the buyers and sellers. We have also been showing homes to prospective buyers utilizing several of the virtual meeting platforms and 3D home tours. We continue to sell homes this way, and have longstanding relationships with lenders to help buyers obtain financing. Once you are under contract, you can perform an in-person walkthrough of the house, conduct an inspection as we have in the past, and continue to closing – which is conducted virtually.
We are here for you, virtually now and literally when the rules are eased. We weathered the real estate downturns of the 1980’s, 2001, 2008, and now in 2020.
Keith Combs
The Kentwood Company
The real estate market this spring was primed to be one of the strongest on record at the start of March, but took a swift turn from the impacts of the pandemic. Under Gov. Polis’s stay-at-home order, real estate is an essential service because personal circumstances require that some people buy or sell a home during this period.How real estate is transacted has changed, and so far it’s working for homebuyers and sellers. We are using virtual tools more than ever such as listing photography, virtual tours, e-signatures on contracts and contact-free closings. Curbside closings with closers wearing gloves and masks is no longer uncommon, which is not something we would have imagined even weeks ago. We have a new contract, called the COVID-19 Addendum, that allows a transaction to be extended in the case a homebuyer or seller is exposed or quarantined. These changes are necessary to keep our community safe, and ultimately the health and safety of our neighbors is by far the most important factor when considering how to responsibly serve homebuyers and sellers.
Park Hill is a stately and rooted neighborhood. We believe in supporting community by supporting local businesses, and encourage neighbors to do whatever they can to remain safe and upbeat, as well as help their neighborhood shops and restaurants.
There is still a lack of supply and a high demand, and that is what keeps prices stabilized and even increasing. In fact, it largely flew under the radar that the average price of homes in March was $513,526 – setting a new record high and the first time the average close price for both single-family homes and condos topped the half-million dollar mark. Pent-up demand will be evident over the summer, and anyone thinking of selling in the next few months will be able to successfully do so.
Home Remodeling Re-envisioned
Q&A With Cherstin Toney of Gather & Spruce
Interview by Cara DeGette
Editor, GPHN
In days of lockdown, renovating and moving forward with home remodeling projects has called for some creative rethinking. Cherstin Toney, owner and creative director of the Denver-based design and remodeling firm Gather & Spruce, recently (virtually) sat down with Greater Park Hill News to share a few ways that the company has adapted.
Greater Park Hill News: You’ve adjusted your business model, and are focusing more on virtual designing and collaboration with clients, for at least the next few months. It sounds like a really cool approach. Can you describe in a bit more detail exactly how it works?
Cherstin Toney: While people are spending more time in their homes we want to help them move forward on design projects they may have been holding off on until they had more time. Our process would be gathering information and measurements from the job site. Then we set Zoom meetings reviewing wants, needs and budget objectives and from there we will begin to present design ideas, including floor plans and elevations – we can even do 3D renderings. Product samples, those things that really need that “see, feel and touch” experience will be delivered to clients prior to the design meetings, disinfected and ready for the feedback.
GPHN: How exactly does the project move from the design stage into construction phase? What is the general timeline?
CT: Construction is considered essential, therefore we can do construction in peoples’ homes as they feel comfortable. We have paired down our subcontractor walkthroughs to include only our general contractor and project manager, with necessary trades being Zoomed into the walk-through to gather information. From here we can begin to prepare construction budgets and we can begin ordering materials to begin construction. If clients don’t feel comfortable we will get all the design complete and move to our next stage (walk-through and budget meeting) when the quarantine is lifted.
GPHN: As far as the construction phase, how does that work? Are there ways that completing the construction phase have changed?
CT: We are taking necessary precautions on the job site, wearing masks and gloves, posting CDC-recommended guidelines for working safely on the job site. We are also offering to help those homeowners wishing to take on a do-it-yourself project but not willing to sacrifice a professional looking project and the added equity in their home. We can help them through the design, as well as into the construction process either as consultants or even as technicians for any jobs outside of their skill set – as much or as little as they need. (for more, check out our website at gatherandspruce.com.)
GPHN: What types of remodel projects do you anticipate people are going to be pursuing the most as a result of long-term working from and sheltering at home?
CT: I think as a result of more time spent in the home, that even more than before we will see people requesting the kinds of spaces that bring togetherness and a sense of wellbeing. For most of our clients this involves kitchens and family areas. I also feel that people will think about continuing to working remotely, as a result of seeing that it really is very time- and resource-efficient.