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By Scott Roblin

Open House Ban

Ban on open houses latest step for Medicine Hat Real Estate Board

Mar 19, 2020 | 12:21 PM

MEDICINE HAT, AB – Medicine Hat’s real estate market is being dealt another obstacle to overcome in the form of the COVID-19 virus.

According to the Medicine Hat Real Estate Board, the global pandemic is causing some unique challenges for the local market with a sharp decline in the number of people buying and selling.

President Dione Todd said most people are putting their lives on pause and are waiting before making big financial decisions.

“Everybody is just taking a step backwards and just looking at not only their finances, but jobs with what’s happening,” said Todd. “Of course anybody that’s got a current mortgage, trying to figure that out as well.”

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Due to COVID-19, the MHREB has suspended all open house visits in the city until at least March 31 and will be re-evaluating the ban at the end of the month.

Todd said this move was made to try and limit as much personal contact as possible between realtors, sellers, and buyers.

“That was made just for everybody’s safety,” she said. “We felt that was the right thing to do. We’re hearing everywhere from our government to social distance and just stay safe.”

Per the MHREB latest statistics, February home sales in Medicine Hat were down 20 percent from the previous year with only 61 homes sold during that span.

Aside from unique circumstances, very few people are currently looking at the local real estate market thanks to social distancing.

“People are staying home and obviously with no open houses and whatnot, people aren’t looking,” said Todd. “There are actually people still actively searching for a home though, because they might have sold their house in the last week or so and need somewhere to live. So, we are still seeing some movement in the market, but not a lot of course.”

The Real Estate Council of Alberta is advising consumers to speak with real estate professionals if they have questions regarding buying and selling over the coming weeks, while also asking potential buyers and sellers to assess their risk of entering the market.

At this point, Todd said she’s not providing blanket advice to anyone as it should be up to the consumer if they decide to enter into real estate over the next few months.

However, it’s not necessarily something she’d promote at this time.

“Nobody really knows what’s going to happen with our world or the markets,” said Todd. “Me personally, I wouldn’t consider getting into real estate today. I would wait a little bit to see what’s going to happen and just to ensure the safety of our community.”

Many of Medicine Hat’s real estate offices have been closed to the public as a self distancing measure, however Todd added most realtors are still fully operational by working from home.