Story by Sara Paul
Jennifer DiCostanzo has been selling homes for eight years. A successful realtor and active member of the Warwick community, Jen has not let the current climate of social distancing shake her commitment to her many clients, both buyers and sellers. The 13-year Warwick resident, who is an Associate Realtor at the Green Team New York Realty office, located at 7 Main St., in the Village of Warwick, has moved all aspects of her business to the virtual world.
Using online tools for all steps of the complex real estate market operations, from virtual showings to online contract-signing, DiCostanzo has had two successful closings since the onset of the COVID-19 social distancing regulations. A helpful stride was when real estate was deemed an essential business (with limited operations) as of Wed., Apr. 1.
While it is can be challenging without face to face meetings and in person showings, Jennifer reports that, “Both buyers and sellers are still focused, while adjusting to newly enforced social distance measures. Everyone is just taking it in stride.”
Always keeping abreast of the latest computer-based applications, Jennifer confirms that, “With remote protocols and advanced technologies we are still able to keep transactions on track. According to the seasoned businesswoman, the Warwick market is still in a good place… for now.
“The Warwick housing market is not experiencing ‘the sky is falling’ doom and gloom. Sellers who are on the market are not pulling their homes off or seeing volatile changes in market prices or values, and buyers are still eager to buy in Warwick. Sellers have healthy equity in their homes as the market values have been strong the last few years,” Jennifer explains, adding that interest rates remain low.
“A good stick of which to measure is I’m still getting calls. Real estate is fueled by circumstance because when people have to move they have to move,” said Jen, who believes that while residential sales are still active, commercial sales and rentals will likely take a hit as businesses are seeing little to no foot traffic.
She is also largely concerned about buyers who may be or become unemployed, not an ideal status for individuals seeking a mortgage.
“The next few weeks will be crucial as we find out how deep we are in this,” said Jen.
Working diligently from her home office, the dedicated realtor and unrelenting optimist foresees, “We will get through this; we just have to get a handle on it. If you keep your ear to the ground, you can predict what’s coming.”
