Local realtor Kelsey Adams says he was pleasantly surprised with how busy the real estate market was during the first few months of the pandemic.

In regards to expectations upon entering the pandemic, Adams says it was hard to have expectations because it is such a different situation that none had ever been through before so it was unknown how it would affect the real estate market.

Open houses were not being held during the first few months of the pandemic but have since been allowed to continue, although Adams says the stringent restrictions now in place are not conducive to holding an open house.

Adams adds that the traffic is not there and many buyers are unwilling to risk themselves to that exposure when there are other methods of viewing homes such as through video tours and pictures.

The process of showing homes has certainly changed as Adams explains.

"There were some sellers who were ok with showings as long as people wore a mask and or gloves. Overall, the majority of people were ok with their houses being shown, we just did it a little differently. As we were going through we were carrying a disinfectant wipe with us in our hand so the only things we touched were with the wipe."

Overall, Adams says that they have been seeing serious buyers and agents have had to demonstrate a more focused way of home buying experience rather than a shotgun approach. Agents have also now found themselves doing more to qualify the buyer so as to not risk themselves or their clients for unnecessary reasons.

With regards to those selling their homes Adams says the fact that listings are lower than in years past, this is not indicative of the ways things will continue

"I think there a lot of people taking a wait and see attitude for many reasons. I think the pandemic has maybe made people think; you know what maybe we will just stay put for a little while. Not that our listings are low; (they're) just lower than they have been for the past four years, which the last four years have been creeping up very high. We're kind of getting inventories back to a more normal level."

Adams explains that looking forward they need to adapt the best they can and service clients as professional real estate agents to the best of their ability.