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The Saskatchewan Realtors Association is shutting the door on open houses.
Starting Thursday, members will not be allowed to hold open houses because of COVID-19 concerns.
The measure will last until at least Jan. 1, when it will be reviewed based on the virus case numbers in the province.
Association CEO Jason Yochim said safety is the top priority.
“Due to the recent increase in cases across the province, we felt it was important to look at ways to protect the consumers and public safety,” he said Thursday.
“We recognize that the decision to postpone open houses across the province creates some inconvenience for home builders and also for our members, but weighing that against public safety, we felt that was the right decision at this time.”
He considers realty an essential service, and thinks it’s important for the association to do what it can to keep letting people buy homes.
“I think we have demonstrated earlier this year when restrictions were in place, when the pandemic was first at its highest point, and we made some decisions to do things like suspend open houses and (implement) showing protocols. To our knowledge, it helped to allow the market to continue to be strong without any repercussions as far as clusters (of cases) from open houses or showings,” Yochim said.
In the meantime, people interested in seeing a home will have to either book a private, in-person house tour or go on a virtual tour.
“Our members, for a long time now, have been using technology to promote property. They can do virtual open houses (and) they can use Facebook Live,” he explained.
“Technology has really changed the home-buying process. A lot of consumers have a very good idea what the home has to offer and whether or not it might work for them long before they actually physically view the property.”
For in-person tours, only two prospective buyers are allowed in at a time.
These changes will apply to all realtors who are members of the Saskatchewan Realtors Association.