Many homeowners in the Prescott area are wondering what our current pandemic will mean to the local real estate industry.    

Well, we will cover these questions and more as we explore the 3 Keys to Selling Your Home in a World with Coronavirus.

#1 – Buyers: No matter when you are trying to sell your house, the #1 most important thing you need is hungry buyers. Prescott has been blessed with strong buyer demand for several years now, and the coronavirus has not changed that – not in the long term. In fact, it will likely increase even further after the crisis abates.

Because it is relatively remote and less prone to large scale infections of the virus than large urban centers, the Prescott area has become even more attractive to home buyers, particularly those of retirement age. You can anticipate heightened demand from buyers in large cities like Los Angeles and San Diego in the weeks and months ahead – areas that already had Prescott in their sights.

Buyers are anxiously waiting to come and buy as soon as they get the green light. If the effects of the virus are reduced by warm weather as many experts believe will happen, this Summer will be a very busy time for Prescott real estate.

#2 – Virtual Technology:  The second thing you need to sell your home is a way of connecting with people. With everyone hunkered down and sheltered in place, home buyers aren’t attending open houses and going on home tours, so traditional real estate marketing is dead in its tracks.

But they ARE buying. Stuck at home with not much to do, people are spending more and more time online shopping for everything – including houses. What’s hot, hot, hot is showing homes using digital technology – like virtual open houses. (Below you will find a link to VirtuOpen.com, a site that lists virtual open houses for homes for sale in the Prescott area.)

Because these virtual techniques are so new, not many agents can offer them to their clients. So the few sellers who are able to take advantage of virtual technology are absolutely dominating the market right now.

#3 – Safety Precautions: Finally, and most importantly, selling your home during a pandemic requires careful adherence to all recommended precautions. Safety is, of course, the highest concern; we must be careful. 

The presence of this virus has become part of our new normal. It is likely we will experience more waves of infection in the future, so this new normal isn’t ending any time soon. We cannot stay trapped inside our homes forever. We must learn to conduct our lives and our business safely by minimizing the risks with appropriate safety measures.

Whenever possible, real estate business must be conducted virtually, and for those situations where only an in-person meeting will do, groups must be kept to a minimum with social distancing in effect. People need to wash and sanitize their hands frequently and use disposable gloves when appropriate. 

 By now, you probably know the recommended protocols. Be sure to stay safe and use them!