By Donna Rovins The Times Herald
Many real estate professionals got back to work within hours after Gov. Tom Wolf reversed himself and issued an executive order allowing the industry to reopen immediately.
Real estate sales and related activities can resume in areas that are still in the red zone, as long as steps are taken to minimize the spread of the coronavirus.
The executive order followed the governor’s earlier veto of legislation on the same issue — making Tuesday a bit of a “roller coaster,” according to Terese Brittingham, broker/owner of Keller Williams Realty Group in Limerick.-
“The reopening was much-needed,” she said, adding that real estate is an essential service. “These agents rely on their commissions as income. This is an opportunity to let them get back and what they do — which is sell houses.”
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Seth Lejeune is a team leader/associate for RE/MAX HomePoint in Royersford. He said he was “excited” when the news came on Tuesday.
“My reaction? I went to my wife and said ‘It’s go time,’” he said. “I do believe in my bones real estate is no more hazardous than other things. However, I spent most of my time being cognizant of how scared people were.”
“I was shocked in a good way,” said Meredith Jacks, broker/owner of Styer Real Estate in South Coventry. “I think I was anticipating some parts of real estate would reopen or there would be some kind of change. Just as quickly as we shut down we were reopened.”
Christopher Benedict is the broker/owner of RE/MAX HomePoint in Royersford and owner of BIG Realty Property Management. He said he didn’t have a problem initially with taking a pause to get a sense of the coronavirus issue, but added the governor’s order should have come three weeks ago.
“When everyone started to open as an essential service — we were the only state in the country, then the only couple of counties that were still closed,” he said.
Jacks said the part of her job she enjoys the most is dealing with people, which has been missing since March.
“I was never opposed to portions of the job being done virtually but the human element was missing for me,” she said. Facetime and Skype didn’t deliver the same quality of service real estate agents want to provide.”
Brittingham said with the region remaining in the red phase, there will still be uncertainty, adding that her agency will continue to perform many things virtually to protect the agents and clients.
In-person real estate sales and activities have been prohibited since mid-March, which has caused problems for many home buyers and sellers.
Lejeune said that has been one of the drivers for getting back to work.
“It wasn’t about getting out to make another commission. I have some people with real problems,” he said, including one client that inherited a house she can’t afford, and a rental tenant with roommate problems but couldn’t move. “I’m pumped and excited to go and solve problems.”
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