Are Open Houses Acceptable During COVID-19

The housing market is up 4% since last year. Well, how is that possible if people are forced to stay indoors? Although there might be a pandemic outside, that apparently doesn’t stop people from buying houses and taking our new mortgages. Shalom Lamm, a real estate expert, has heard that open houses are still being permitted. Yet, it’s very unsafe and can be very hurtful to anyone involved. 

There are open houses that exist around the country. Of course, everyone is required to wear a mask, and some eleven require gloves. That being said, it’s certainly not as safe as Zooming the real estate agent. Although only one family is allowed at a time, it makes the purchasing process a lot longer and stressful for some agents. Also, an added cost to any open house is sanitation. Making sure the home is germ-free, before and after, any interested buyers show up, is a must-have.  From an agent’s point of view, putting themselves at risk of getting sick might have to happen if they want to build a stronger connection with the buyers. Having them touch surface areas, seeing how furniture brings out certain spaces and picturing themselves living in a home might be worth the risk. However, Shalom Lamm thinks that the virus is too frightening to meddle with. The market is still increasing which means over the phone open houses are more than acceptable.