RealTrends Magazine published an insightful article by Brooklee Han about the effects of Covid-19 on real estate sales and practices.
We tested her premise on a couple of local Realtors who happen to work from the same office, Realty Executives Associates on Tazewell Pike in Fountain City.
Cameron Brooks is a buttoned-down, computer-invested, calm and generally rules-abiding sort of guy.
Cameron Brooks
“Believe it or not, 2020 was one of my best years, he wrote. “I stayed pretty safe throughout that year and didn’t contract covid until January of 2022.
“With clients, I basically masked up and they did too during showings or in-person meetings. I stayed pretty vigilant with that except for out-of-town clients in November and December of 2020, who insisted I drive them around.
“We did not mask while driving together, which worried me but I don’t know what else could have been done. Fortunately, all turned out well as none of us had covid or exposed each other.
“In our industry. we adapted. There was never any shelter-in-place for me as I continued to go into the office and work the entire time, masked, of course, except when I was alone in my office.”
Gary Koontz said he never missed a day’s work and he never caught Covid. The question gave Koontz a chance to express some likes and dislikes. He:
- Hated to wear a mask
- Got tired of watching church on TV
- Would not eat food-to-go and didn’t understand restaurants that required masks for those walking in, but “we took them off as soon as we were seated.”
Gary Koontz
Koontz credited his U.S. Marine Corps training for some good habits, like frequent hand-washing. “And there weren’t any big events to go to.”
What about clients who want to ride with you to look at houses? “People don’t ride around much anymore. They’ll just meet you at the house.
“Covid was (is) a real thing, but you can’t let it control your life.”
Koontz lists and sells property, but he also develops communities and, with his wife, Vicki, rehabs older homes.
Brooklee Han wrote: “As homebuyers and investors flooded the housing market, spurred on by cheap loans, real estate agents had to figure out not only how to meet this surge in demand, but also keep themselves and their clients safe and healthy in a world suddenly full of uncertainty.”
Sounds like Cameron and Gary had it covered.
A deal’s a deal
The National Association of Realtors won a skirmish in federal court this week as a judge ruled that a previous agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice over an antitrust investigation into the trade group’s practices remained in effect even though the DOJ, now headed by Merrick Garland, wants to change it.
Here is how he said a deal’s a deal: “The government, like any party, must be held to the terms of its settlement agreements, whether or not a new administration likes those agreements.”
Sandra Clark is editor/CEO of Knox TN Today Inc.