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The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak has upended our daily lives in many ways. Businesses have shut down or minimized their operations, while people have had to cancel plans and adjust to a new normal. Fortunately, important real estate transactions press on despite actions designed to reduce the rate of transmission and relieve the burden on hospitals.
If you had plans to buy or sell a home, you can safely continue your activities thanks to some strategic adjustments made by forward-thinking real estate professionals. Throughout the country, agents have been able to continue meeting client needs despite the global pandemic by providing virtual tours of properties.
According to John Wheaton of The Wheaton Team, his team of Colorado Springs and Monument realtors have leveraged this efficient strategy to help clients continue on with their goals.
“Right now, many people are a bit apprehensive about sharing close space with others,” said Wheaton. “Virtual tours provide a great way to streamline the sale of a home while making the buyer and seller feel more comfortable. If a buyer wants to see something, but a seller isn’t comfortable having people coming into their house, we can go do a virtual video or a FaceTime video. This gives buyers clear insight into a property, so they can make informed decisions while adhering to social distancing protocols.”
For a business that relies on personal, face-to-face interactions, the COVID-19 outbreak poses challenges. Fortunately, today’s digital age provides solutions that allow important real estate transactions to continue relatively unabated.
Virtual tours let sellers show their properties to many prospective buyers without having to worry about inviting a sick person into their homes. Online tours also make it easy for buyers to get an in-depth perspective on key facets of a property. They can request closer looks at specific areas of concern and get an immersive visual perspective of what it would be like to live in a particular home. It’s a very efficient way to calm nerves and streamline real estate transactions while preventing needless and potentially costly delays.
Right now, real estate agents are fielding a lot of questions from people who want to know if they can still buy or sell a home. While the outbreak has definitely hit many industries hard, there’s no reason why people should put off their plans to buy or sell a home. In fact, according to Wheaton, it may even be an ideal time to buy or sell, depending on each individual’s situation.
“The Federal Government recently took major steps to prevent mortgage rates from rising during the outbreak,” said Wheaton. “This will give consumers more time to lock in low rates and refinance existing mortgages. If you are planning to buy a new home, it’s best to do it before rates go up. From a seller’s point of view, it’s also best to go forward with a sale while rates are still low, because low rates mean more interested buyers, and buyer competition means you can sell your home for more.”
To help buyers and sellers achieve their real estate goals despite the outbreak, savvy agents have developed thoughtful ways to conduct business remotely.
“At The Wheaton Team, we have clients that can’t afford to pause because they have immediate housing needs,” said Wheaton. “We also have clients that don’t want to miss out on low interest-rate opportunities. It’s natural that the viral outbreak would bring an abundance of caution among buyers and sellers. However, our professionals have the agility and foresight to manage these challenging times by modifying meeting protocols, touring homes with smaller groups and doing virtual tours when requested.”
It can be challenging for any business to remain operational while adhering to important public health restrictions and recommendations. Fortunately, today’s technology allows real estate agents to continue serving the needs of buyers and sellers during challenging times.
About The Wheaton Team
For nearly two decades, The Wheaton Team has specialized in residential real estate in Colorado Springs, Monument and all of El Paso County, Colorado. With 60-plus years of combined experience, the company’s award-winning real estate professionals have developed a simple, three-step system to help buyers and sellers achieve their goals.
With a considerate team of experienced real estate professionals, The Wheaton Team is ideally positioned to guide clients through the complicated home buying/selling process and help them sell their properties or find the home they’ve always dreamed of.
