With the housing market being as active as it is today, the real estate industry has had to quickly adapt to meet new safety and health requirements. There are many challenges to managing your real estate operation during good times, but additional challenges during the pandemic need even more careful planning, oversight and management. It is important to understand the COVID-19 requirements that may still apply to your industry, suggested best practices, and resources available to help you.
COVID-19 Requirements
Nevada’s Roadmap to Recovery lays out a requirements for businesses with specific capacity limits and other requirements. Starting May 1st, 2021, the state transitioned to local authority for setting specific requirements by business types. Visit the Nevada Health Response website for the latest updates on COVID-19 Guidelines in Nevada.
Industry Best Practices
Some general best practices and tips that may help you comply with guidelines and help home buyers and seller and your clients and employees feel safe include:
- Require clients, employees and other visitors to wear face masks
- Social Distance
- Stagger or limit in-person home showings and open houses
- Social distance when performing real estate transactions
- Have customers complete a self-assessment questionnaire prior to arrival
- Innovate
- Update your website to be mobile-friendly
- Consider using electronic documents and encouraging buyers and sellers to sign paperwork through platforms like DocuSign to minimize in-person contacts
- Offer alternative marketing opportunities such as three-dimensional interactive property scans (via Matterport, Cupix, EyeSpy 360)
- Offer virtual tours using Skype or Facebook
- Use virtual staging to showcase a property
- Used programs such as Kleard for on demand open houses, Immoviewer for video tours, and BombBomb for video check-ins.
- Cleaning
- Have hand sanitizer and sanitizing stations and products readily available
- Have daily deep disinfections of high contact surfaces in the office
- Use cleaning products that meet the EPA’s criteria for use against SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19) – this list of products can be found on the EPA website here: List N: Disinfectants for Use Against SARS-CoV-2
- Read more about Cleaning and Disinfecting during a pandemic
Business Basics
Business basics are more important than ever. Evaluate your profit and loss statement. Look for ways to reduce operating costs. Analyze your cash flow and breakeven to evaluate the impacts of the new guidelines and best practices on your operations. As Nevada’s COVID-19 measures evolve you may need to continually adjust your operations. Here are a few things to think about:
- Get Help
- Contact a business development counselor at the Nevada SBDC by calling 800.240.7094 – we can help you assess your operations and decide on best strategies for your business
- For questions about cleaning and disinfecting, strategies to control new waste streams, dealing with new or legacy environmental issues associated with a property, or with or other environmental questions, contact an environmental business advisor at BEP at 800.882.3233
- Communicate
- Keep communicating with your customers on social media and your website with announcements about your current hours, and new or expanded services so your customers understand your current operations
- Be open about the measures you are taking to meet the guidelines; consider signage at your entrance so customers can be aware of the steps you are taking to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and to meet new industry guidelines
- Expand Services
- Offer alternative marketing opportunities such as three-dimensional interactive property scans (via Matterport, Cupix, EyeSpy 360)
- Offer virtual tours using Skype or Facebook
- Offer virtual showings as much as possible
- Use virtual staging to showcase a property
- Used programs such as Kleard for on demand open houses, Immoviewer for video tours, and BombBomb for video check-ins
- Potential Cost-Saving Measures
- Cross train employees so they can cover multiple areas
- Try to partner with furniture stores for home showcasings
- Offer to sell the furniture store’s furniture with the house so you don’t have to rent it for showings
- Move towards more digital advertising to cut on printing costs
- Consider energy efficiency, waste minimization and other sustainability strategies
- Creative Marketing
- Update or redesign your website; make sure it is mobile friendly
- Use micro social media to focus more on your immediate neighborhood to bring in local customers
- Advertise through local homeowner associations
Resources
- Nevada Health Response: Business and Industry Compliance
- Nevada Association of Realtors
- Nevada Health Response
- Nevada Department of Business & Industry, Occupational Safety & Health Administration
- Southern Nevada Health District (SNHD) COVID-19 Guidance for Businesses and Permitted Facilities
- Nevada Governor’s Office of Economic Development
- Center for Disease Control (CDC) Guidance
- US EPA List N: Disinfectants Approved for Use Against SARS-CoV-2
- Small Business Federal Financial Assistance
- U.S. Securities Exchange Commission Resources for Small Business
- National Association of Realtors: Coronavirus