The day Governor Andrew Cuomo issued a stay-at-home order in March, Claire Groome, a broker with Warburg Realty, had planned to stage a spacious Upper East Side apartment with furniture.
Instead of helping her sell the unit, those props have gathered dust in the back of a truck over the past four months. Virtually overnight, a typically bustling spring season for the real-estate industry ground to a halt along with the rest of New York City life because of the pandemic.
Since then, Groome hasn’t been able to show apartments in person. But now that the city has entered phase one of reopening and is gearing up for the second phase, which includes real estate and offices, her phone is ringing off the hook with client questions.
“I think there’s a lot of pent-up demand,” says Groome. “A lot of people have been living in apartments that are too small; they’re ready to come out and have a look.”
On June 8, the city became the last region of the state to restart its economy, with as many as 400,000 New Yorkers returning to work in construction, manufacturing, and retail. New cases of COVID-19 have declined sharply, and deaths have slowed to a trickle; if that downward trajectory continues and the city hits several health benchmarks, New Yorkers could head into the second phase of reopening by late June.
Now, as the real-estate industry begins to bounce back from the pandemic, it’s little surprise that COVID-19 is also dominating how New Yorkers think about where they live.
“It’s the first time in my career it hasn’t been location, location, location,” says Holly Sose, a broker with Corcoran. “It’s been anywhere in New York City with three bathrooms and a backyard.”
In recent weeks, Sose has received multiple inquiries about upgrading to bigger and better homes with perks like an in-unit washer and dryer, a low-level apartment to avoid cramped elevators, and any and all forms of outdoor space, from balconies to backyards.
But the pandemic is adding a layer of complexity for getting New Yorkers into those homes. The most obvious challenge is dealing with the logistical quirks of in-person showings in the midst of a pandemic. State guidance mandates that brokers stagger showings to mitigate crowds, wear face masks and gloves (shoe coverings are recommended), and clean surfaces. When possible, remote walk-throughs are encouraged over on-site visits.
The Real Estate Board of New York has also issued guidance for sales and rentals, including keeping in-person contact to a minimum, implementing health screenings when physical meetings are unavoidable, and using limitation-of-liability forms to coordinate those visits.
Lucas Callejas, a broker with Triplemint, is taking that advice to heart with plans to limit physical apartment tours. Rather than merely showing a would-be buyer or renter a listing, he’ll send a 3-D home tour; from there, he’d take them on a FaceTime walk-through, and then, if they’re still interested, arrange for an actual visit.
Casually dropping by an open house is likely a thing of the past, for now, on account of overcrowding concerns. Instead, visits will need to be scheduled. And what’s doable will likely vary building to building according to that property’s rules; where open houses are out of the question at one property, they could be a nonissue at another.
“Getting people into the space is going to take a few more steps than it used to,” says Callejas. “It’s going to be case by case with a lot of discussion with both sellers and buyers on what they’re comfortable with.”
That being said, some agents don’t expect the temporary necessity of virtual showings to stick around in a big way once the pandemic subsides. And that will begin to change with the city’s second phase of reopening. Sose notes that several of her clients are eyeing roomier apartments but aren’t willing to commit without taking a physical look.
“In my experience, real estate is a lot like dating: You can look at pictures, but it’s a feeling that you get when you walk into your home, and I think it’s intangible,” says Sose.
That’s especially important as New Yorkers are perhaps spending more time than ever in their homes, as they’ve had little choice but to create impromptu home offices, gyms, and playrooms during the city’s shutdown.
It’s unclear if that temporary shift in thinking will mean a surge of New Yorkers, for those who can afford to, upgrading their homes. Bess Freedman, the CEO of Brown Harris Stevens, believes the quarantine has forced some city dwellers to reevaluate how they live. But how serious people are about finding a new place will only become clear in the weeks and months following phase two of the city’s reopening.
“People who have been in their apartments are evaluating what they want, what they need,” says Freedman. “The question is: How much will that translate into getting a new place for people? We have to figure out what that’s going to mean.”
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