Open houses banned, new safety measures recommended amid COVID-19 pandemic: Alberta Real Estate Association

Selling or buying a home in Alberta has gotten a lot more difficult as the Alberta Real Estate Association (AREA) announced earlier this week that open houses are now banned.

The decision to ban all open houses was made in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, AREA chair Kristie Kruger said in a news release.

“This unprecedented health pandemic has forced all Albertans to make significant changes. Because open houses are public, with unpredictable attendance, it is difficult to ensure they comply with Alberta Health recommendations,” Kruger said. 

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "This unprecedented health pandemic has forced all Albertans to make significant changes. Because open houses are public, with unpredictable attendance, it is difficult to ensure they comply with Alberta Health recommendations," Kruger said.<span style="font-family:-apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, Oxygen-Sans, Ubuntu, Cantarell, 'Helvetica Neue', sans-serif;"> </span>

AREA chief executive officer Brad Mitchell told Global News on Thursday the group is recommending all realtors practice physical distancing when possible, including the use of video-conferencing where possible, virtual tours and digital signatures.

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, Calgary realtor Zee Zebian said he would do open house showings every Saturday.

Zebian said he recently had to move to a virtual showing, offering up creative solutions to showcase homes to buyers and sellers via Facebook live.

“It’s been difficult because a lot of people have based their business off of open houses, [and] meeting people that way as well, Zebian said.

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