Home sales in Yellowknife nosedive during pandemic

If he had to do it all over again, Stu Impett says he probably wouldn't sell his house in the middle of a pandemic.

"It was kind of a necessary evil. I really didn't feel like having two homes," he said.

The Yellowknife resident and his wife bought a new home about a month-and-a-half earlier. They were always planning on selling this time of year. Then the territory began tightening restrictions.

Impett said he put their home up for sale on April 9. A day after, a notice went out; the Northwest Territories would be banning all indoor gatherings effective the next day, right when a prospective buyer was supposed to view their home.

The viewing was moved up, and working with his real estate agent, new procedures were put in place. Only one person was allowed in at a time. They would have to wear personal protective equipment. Doors would be left open, including some cupboards. And of course, the home would be wiped down before and after.

"We were kind of the guinea pigs because it was all coming so fast," Impett said.

"It wasn't a bad or negative experience. It was just challenging."

Sales drop in Yellowknife 

An offer came in the next day and the paper work completed by the afternoon. It was one of 17 transactions in Yellowknife between March 15 and April 15, a roughly 30 per cent drop from the average over the same time period of the previous five years, according to Adrian Bell, a real estate agent in the city, using data from the Yellowknife Real Estate Board.

The managing broker and owner of Century 21 Prospect Realty says since then, sales have dropped to 54 per cent compared to the five year average.

"We've got a lot of clients that have said you know, 'we're going to wait three months, we're just going to wait a year. It's not essential and/or we consider it to be too risky,'" Bell said.

"That's a big part of why the market is down this year. That's completely the understandable outcome of a pandemic."

Bell said a 50 per cent decline compared to the five year average in a single month is not unheard of, particularly if there is cold weather or an Arctic Winter Games because people are travelling.

He said the hit is not as substantial as most in the industry had expected. And while he doesn't believe things will get back to normal until travel restrictions are lifted, he anticipates a relatively quick recovery when it does.

"Some people are not in a position to hold off. And for a lot of people, their livelihood depends on finding a new home in a given area in a given town. So these are very essential services to a lot of people."

In the meantime, the industry, like many, has moved online. Where there might have been 10 viewings per home a year ago, Bell said it's now down to about three. Buyers are now thoroughly vetted financially, and questioned about their travel history and whether they may have been in contact with someone who had COVID-19, before they enter a home. They have to watch a virtual tour first, and once inside, people are discouraged from touching anything. Paper work has also gone digital.

Impett wasn't concerned about letting someone into his home, suggesting there's more risk going to the grocery store.

But he did offer some advice to potential sellers: ask a lot of questions to your real estate agent and to buyers.

"Remember, it's your home and at the end of the day you got to keep yourself safe."