Howard Hanna REALTORS® in Pennsylvania Begin to Resume In-Person Work

Several members of Howard Hanna’s Indiana Office team in Pennsylvania were recently featured in a local news article about their return to work after the county’s stay-at-home order was lifted.

In the state of Pennsylvania, groups of counties are currently being moved from “Red” to “Yellow” phases, which lifts stay-at-home orders but requires various adjustments needed to comply with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines.

Jennifer Gonda-English, an agent in the Indiana Office, returned to working in-person immediately on May 15, when Indiana County was moved to “Yellow.” She spent her weekend showing homes for sale to prospective buyers for the first time in two months – all while masked and keeping her distance.

For agents like Jennifer, the return to in-person work is welcome. Pennsylvania had previously halted all appraising, showings, and sales. Prior to May 15, agents had relied on technology to work remotely, trading information, documents, and signatures as needed on sale contracts.

Also quoted in the article, Indiana Office broker Doug Lockard discusses meeting the requirements for conducting business now that the county has moved to “Yellow”:

“If we’re going to have in-person contact for any real estate-related services, we have to abide by the regulations of the Pennsylvania Department of Health and the Centers for Disease Control. Things such as masks, social distancing, minimizing the number of participants in real estate activities, whether it’s for listing or in-person looking at homes or properties and the process of doing agreements for sale.”

As of Friday, property sales have resumed in Indiana County – and agents have already filled their calendars. “Quite a few” property showings and viewings took place on Friday, May 15, with more scheduled for the weekend and beyond, according to Doug:

“There was a pent-up demand coming out of the gate and we were happy to see it. People with homes for sale were happy to see it,” he said, and so should people at home improvement supply stores, landscapers, plumbers, electricians and related businesses that could expect a boost in trade as buyers fix up their new houses.

You can read the full article about this story at The Indiana Gazette’s website.