In person home sales in Pennsylvania, in person car sales in New Jersey resume
EVESHAM TWP., New Jersey (WPVI) -- Real estate is creeping back to life in Pennsylvania and new cars are being driven off the lots in New Jersey as major business starts to resume.
Wednesday is the first day car dealerships in New Jersey resumed in-person transactions.
For the last two months, car dealerships have done everything virtually including at-home test drives and delivery service.
Burns Buick GMC General Sales manager CJ Kull said there was an initial drop in sales when the pandemic hit, but now the dealership is surging in demand.
"We're actually really concerned about having enough inventory," said Kull. "So the sales pace didn't decrease as much as we initially thought. With the manufacturer stopping manufacturing, we're going to be ending up running out of a lot of vehicles."
The pandemic also created a host of challenges for real estate agents across Pennsylvania. Real estate was initially deemed non-essential and agents were forced to do virtual showings and open houses.
"I've been calling a lot of our sellers and we've been asking if they want to do a virtual open house," said realtor Dana Zdancewicz. "Basically that means the seller takes the iPhone and walks around and I direct them in front of a bunch of people on a zoom call."
Wednesday is the first full day Governor Wolf is allowing real estate transactions to resume in person, with industry leaders excited to get back to normal.
"Music to our ears," said Joan Docktor, President of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Fox and Roach. "Really excited, we were the only state where we could not show homes."
Docktor said during future home tours, lights will be left on and closet doors open, so that fewer areas are touched.
"I think sales will, in the next few months, improve greatly and I think there have been people on the sidelines but I also think there are people who are still a little bit frightened of going into a home, so I believe virtual showings will continue," said Docktor.
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