But in actuality, the move isn’t expected to prove all that problematic.
With modern technology and basic home viewings able to be conducted almost entirely online in many cases, the open house has become a less important part of the home sales process.
Derek McRitchie of Ottawa Real Estate is one local realtor affected by the decision and pointed out that open houses are just one tool in a full box of options to help buyers and sellers these days.
“The open houses, they’re not as popular as they used to be, but they’re still there and this does change things a bit,” McRitchie said. “But it still feels normal to be shutting that down. You don’t want to be inviting people into spaces… if someone wants to buy a house, it’s probably best if they just look privately online anyways.”
That’s the key — online listings are a primary feature on every realtor’s website these days, giving buyers a chance to check out a home without having to set foot in the building. That’s largely due to the increase in photo quality and the ability to easily peruse dozens of photos quickly.
“The photograph quality is so much better, back then you might have one exterior photo and it wasn’t that legible,” McRitchie explained. “But now the photo quality is really good and we can put a lot of pictures of both the interior and exterior online. Then people can look in the comfort of their own home and then set up a private showing.
“So it’s almost a sign of the times, it’s been going that route. But at the same time, when you’re trying to do anything you can to help someone sell their house, an open house is one of the tools. With everything that’s happening, taking that away is probably for the best right now.”
Private viewings with one or two people are still a go, naturally. But that comes with all sorts of safeguards, including signing off on buyer client waivers, masks, sanitization everything one might expect in such a situation.
It’s with a focus of keeping people — both realtors and customers — as safe as possible while still maintaining the ability to do business.
“It’s lucky with those tools we’ve gathered in the last few years, without them I’m not sure where we’d be, it would be a lot tougher for sure… the way things are changing has certainly helped,” McRitchie said.
