A Salute to REALTORS® and Our Industry

LEGAL COUNSEL

SCOTT PETERSON General Counsel of the Colorado Association of REALTORS® So much of what I get to do as a brokerage industry attorney is harangue and whine and cudgel and cajole REALTORS® about liability, best practices, and risk management. I get to lecture and instill fear in you regarding all of the ways you can get into trouble. It is something that I relish very deeply. And for that, I am sorry.

But not today, Colorado REALTORS®. Today I am here to give you a COVID elbow bump, a socially distanced high-five, and a six-foot air kiss. Today I am here to commend you and our industry partners on a pretty miraculous 2020. It has been a very challenging year in so many respects, but you all have stepped up to the challenge like never before. Well done!

As I look back over the previous 11 months, we have seen historic market swings throughout the entire state. January, February and early March gave us hope for continued real estate velocity in 2020. Record setting economic numbers, sky high consumer confidence and historic employment levels were good indications for things to come in the traditional spring/summer transaction seasons. Of course, all of the changed in mid-March as the world was almost immediately overwhelmed with total paralysis as a result of COVID-19.

Our industry came to an immediate and nearly complete stop over the course of only a few days as Colorado’s citizens and political leaders tried to grasp the implications of a global pandemic. There was no “blueprint” for addressing such a sweeping pandemic; our state, counties and, in some cases, cities were each responding with different orders, directives and mandates to try and address their unique concerns.

Caught in the middle of all of this mayhem were Colorado businesses and, uniquely positioned for confusion, was the real estate industry. Many businesses (retail, restaurant, services, office-based business, etc.) were just simply closed. It was immediately clear that certain businesses weren’t going to be “essential” (gyms, hair salons, restaurants, most retail environments, etc.). Other “essential” businesses were forced to remain open and available to the public. In many cases, this is where we found our true heroes of the pandemic in our healthcare, grocery, and public safety workers.

REALTORS® and our industry partners were thrust into a very unique “hybrid” of various categories. Of course, almost immediately CAR was able to convince Governor Polis’ office that real estate was an essential service. Pandemic aside, people require shelter and the ability to engage in real estate transactions. But, unlike many other “essential” businesses, a REALTOR's® workplace is literally anywhere. Your job consists of active client engagement in various listings, title company offices, automobiles, coffee shops, and client homes. Unlike a grocery store or hospital or Home Depot, you can’t control your physical work environment.

The unique nature of the real estate business lead to much confusion and a wide variety of evolving protocols. It required responding to state and local mandates that were sometimes (often?!) inconsistent. It required unique levels of sensitivity to the wildly different ways your sellers and buyers and others involved in the transaction reacted to the evolving threat of the virus. It required you to locate and secure wipes, hand sanitizer, and masks at a time when other people couldn’t even locate toilet paper!

Indeed, mid-March through mid-May was one of the most unique and challenging times our industry will ever see. Very little “new” business and yet a mad scramble to keep existing business together and close transactions that were already under contract. Despite these challenges, REALTORS® and our industry partners (title, lending, appraisal, inspection, etc.) stepped up and kept Colorado real estate transactions on track for Colorado consumers needing to buy, sell and lease. Well done!

And then as some of the initial COVID quarantine craziness began to subside and the “curve” began to flatten we started to see the impact of people getting out and reevaluating lifestyle and priorities. People realized that one’s home is indeed one’s castle. Buyers and sellers realized that the new post-COVID world may be very different for many years to come. More focus on the home, remote work, remote school, restaurant takeout and food delivery. People from other population dense states recognized that being quarantined in a major city was significantly more miserable than being in the Colorado outdoors. This fact combined with Zoom and remote work opened up relocation possibilities for many new Coloradans.

By late spring/early summer, the Colorado real estate market was on absolute fire and it remains that way to this day. Literally every corner of the state is seeing record level interest from prospective buyers. Of course, inventory is a challenge and pricing is high, but I am not sure I can identify a single Colorado real estate submarket that hasn’t seen breakneck activity since at least July. And, once again, Colorado REALTORS® and our industry partners have responded in stellar fashion! In moving almost instantly from 0 MPH to 180 MPH, REALTORS® have adopted the COVID protocols, played by the rules, and responded to unprecedented consumer real estate demand. You adapted to masks and gloves, wipes and sanitizer, socially distanced showings, COVID advisories, parking lot closings, virtual inspections, and very anxious clients. You capably and professionally jumped into the highest velocity market that most of us have ever seen while simultaneously being cognizant and respectful of COVID’s legitimate concerns and our government’s varying mandates. Once again, well done!

Our industry, and REALTORS® in particular, is to be commended for its very significant role in facilitating Colorado’s economy and consumer demand at a time when many other industries simply cannot. With all of this said, some of the most recent news is clearly identifying disturbing COVID trends in positive cases. Each of you obviously know the public health concerns related to this virus. Moreover, all of you understand the implications of returning to a “Stay at Home” order that will revert everyone to the March-May quarantine days.

I promised no lectures in this article so I will simply remind you to continue acting with the level of professionalism, maturity and respect all of you have demonstrated throughout this unbelievably challenging year. But I also encourage you to reflect on how much our industry and our partners have accomplished in ways that none of us could have imagined even one year ago. Acknowledge your successes and I will say again: Well done!