Real estate is back in Pennsylvania.
For more than a month, real estate agents could only show and sell houses virtually. And there were a lot more people than usual purchasing houses without ever stepping inside.
Then on May 8, real estate transactions and showings were able to resume in 24 counties in northwest and northcentral Pennsylvania. On May 15, 13 more counties moved into the yellow phase as well. But much of the state’s real estate market was still in the state’s red phase selling real estate virtually up until Tuesday.
On Tuesday, Gov. Tom Wolf ordered that real estate could continue after previously vetoing a bill that would have allowed it to go forward.
Real estate agents throughout Pennsylvania have been calling on Wolf to make real estate essential.
“Through PAR’s coordinated efforts with our local associations, our members and consumers, we delivered the message that housing is always essential,” Bill Festa, president of the Pennsylvania Association of Realtors and a real estate agent in the Philadelphia area said. “More than 12,000 messages were sent to the governor with the message that housing is essential.
And his association is very happy about the reopening of real estate in Pennsylvania.
“The Pennsylvania Association of Realtors is thrilled that real estate in Pennsylvania has been reopened, following the safety guidance issued by the state,” he said.
And officials at the Greater Harrisburg Association of Realtors, which represents real estate agents in Cumberland, Perry and Dauphin counties are also excited about the reopening.
“GHAR is pleased real estate has reopened on a statewide basis, which what the association had been advocating for from the beginning,” Kathleen S. Ludwig, chief executive officer of Greater Harrisburg Association of Realtors said. “From our viewpoint, housing has always been essential.”
Not only does real estate continue in the midstate but, other businesses in Cumberland County will get to return on Friday as well when the county moves into the yellow phase.
“We’re very happy that were getting to the yellow phase and we’re looking forward to getting things back to normal,” Bill Rothman, a partner with RSR Realtors in Lemoyne said.
Before Tuesday, a real estate agent like Rothman would have been able to show a house in Cumberland County beginning Friday but not minutes away in Dauphin County. With all of the entire state moving forward with real estate at the same time, Rothman said it will certainly make things easier.
But of course with the reopening of real estate come changes related to COVID-19.
The real estate guidance that real estate agents will have to follow requires that every person present at a property offered for sale has to wear a face covering.
David Becker of Team Becker of Keller Williams Realty said his team is ready with the properer personal protective equipment.
“For pre-cautions, my team has all purchased N95 face masks and is able and willing to take gloves, booties, and sanitizer to be used on showings dependent on the listing agent and seller’s directive," he said.
Previously in the yellow phase the number of people that were allowed in a property at a time was two. That number has now been increased to two people in addition to the real estate agent.
“We are pleased the guidance includes both residential real estate, commercial real estate and property management and increases the number of people permitted in the property from two to three," Ludwig said. “This will allow an agent and a couple to be in the property at the same time.”
Real estate agents are also encouraged to provide all individuals at an in-person activity with a verbal health screening. And the Pennsylvania Realtors Association has supplied real estate agents with a form for people to read and sign.
“We have a form that we use that we try and send out before we go to the properties,” Rothman said. “It simply asks if they have had any fevers, or any health concerns.”
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