By Robert Nardi
I usually start with all the statistics for the month, but because of the state we are in, I thought I would begin with my thoughts concerning COVID-19 and real estate in Southwest Florida. My office is physically closed, but we are all working remotely. I wrote to my sales associates letting them know that Southwest Florida is strong and resilient! We wrestled through three hurricanes since 2004 and of course Irma in 2017 was a doozy and we still came back undefeated and better than ever. Even with COVID-19 I feel we will be in the same position. Is real estate slower right now? Of course it is, some of my listings went in to “withdrawal” because they didn’t want any further showings. After all, the sellers were 75 years old and older. I absolutely understand. Is the Firm still busy? Yes, I am happy to report we are. We were having an amazing year in 2020 until this “hiccup” came about. We continue to work on closings and instead of people flying in to look for property, my Firm and I are doing previews, providing Facetime, additional video and pictures. One of my associates recently sold a condominium for full price via Facetime. Last week, I had three closings, I put an offer in on an attached villa and I will be putting an offer in on a single-family home in Imperial Golf Estates later this week. I will be also listing a property in Hunters Ridge sometime next week. In the past two weeks, I even had two showings on a $1.675M listing. Is it the same? Not really. I miss the one to one in-person interaction. One of my taglines is “We treat every customer like our only customer” and guess what, we started with that philosophy and we continue with the same philosophy regardless if they are in-person or remotely.
I am happy to report that the Firm’s large rental department rose to the occasion and worked very diligently with seasonal tenants and landlords to “soften the blow.” Some of the tenants decided to even extend their stay. Why not? In Collier County (Naples), we currently have under 300 known COVID-19 cases. We are hoping that it plateaus soon, and all move on with our lives.
For those of you who want to know the state of Southwest Florida’s real estate market for February 2020, please CLICK HERE for the most current report. The market performed very well. Sales were up 29%!
The good news is that I am in an industry that is already technology-focused and adept, The Naples Area Board of REALTORS® and its fellow members are supporting each other in to help foster the sale of homes, all while following the Centers for Disease Control guidelines. NABOR® is also providing new digital resources during the coronavirus outbreak to help public and real estate professionals stay connected and safe.
Speaking of safe, wash your hands for 20 seconds, don’t touch your face, and wipe off surfaces with disinfecting wipes and of course, 6 feet of distancing to another person.
We’ll all get through this. Let’s all stay healthy. Love the people you love and let them know it!