While many businesses have the capability to let their employees work from home, public concern over the spread of COVID-19 could impact closings and other elements of home sales.

With four cases of the coronavirus-caused COVID_19 illness confirmed in the state as of The Registry Review’s deadline, real estate businesses and financial institutions are preparing contingency plans, from restocking hand sanitizer to making sure business operations can keep running should workers need to work remotely amid the escalating threat of the virus.  

For most real estate businesses, remote workflows are nothing new – most agents work remotely on a regular basis using videoconferencing, iPads and phones for document signing.  

“They can take a listing from contract to close without having to be in the office,” said Kevin Tengan, vice president of marketing at Berkshire Hathaway Services Verani Realty, which employs about 600 agents located throughout New Hampshire, Northern Massachusetts and Maine.   

The staff usually working in the office, like accountants and other support staff, would also be able to work from home through installed virtual private networks (VPNs) in the case of a quarantine, according to Staige Davis, CEO of Four Seasons Sotheby’s International Realty. 

“We’re long ways away from that, but we’re thinking about how to make that work,” he said. 

Worry Over Closings, Showings 

But some worry how the outbreak may impact the physical visits and interactions between agents and customers that precede a closing. Sellers may not want to expose their homes to strangers tromping through and buyers may be reluctant to come out to see houses. The brokerage has already seen a couple showing cancellations, said Davis.  

“I worry about when we have a closing coming up – are we going to have home inspections? Are the appraisers going to get in the houses?” he said. 

But today marketing tools in real estate have expanded beyond the old traditional showing.   

“We have a marketing strategy that is designed to expose a home to as many buyers and influence the buying behavior in a very targeted way,” Berkshire Hathaway’s Tengan said. 

With targeted digital marketing strategies, he said, the company is still able to reach potential buyers.  

“It’s not just having an open house,” said Tengan.  

Davis said he’d seen buyers purchase a home after a tour via FaceTime. But so far, the housing market Four Season’s area along the Vermont and New Hampshire border hasn’t reacted yet to the coronavirus.  

“When a house comes on the market in low or moderate price range, it has multiple offers,” he said, noting the inventory in the area has been low. 

At Banks, Tech Offers Assurance 

For banks, new technologies like online banking are also enabling more remote workflows and taking services electronically.  

“A lot has migrated off of paper,” said Pam Roy, senior vice president and director of human resources at St. Mary’s Bank.  

If the threat of the virus increases, the staff, too, would be able to work remotely through VPNs, which would allow them to access all the files securely from home, according to Roy. Last year, St. Mary’s Bank put in place a remote work policy with its board of directors.  

“Usually if the pandemic stage reaches 5 or higher, we may start to determine if the workers need to be working remotely, so we can limit social interactions,” said Roy.  

The bank also has a safety committee which developed a pandemic response plan during the H1N1 influenza epidemic in 2009. The committee carefully watches disease outbreaks develop through the Centers for Disease Control and the World Health Organization, and should the warnings reach stage 1 and 2, the safety committee responds internally, Roy said. Meanwhile, the bank is taking precautionary measures like putting up no-handshaking signs to minimize physical contact between staff and between staff and visitors.  

The threat of the coronavirus spurred another issue lenders are combatting: a surge in fraudster activity, a common problem during a time of heightened fear among the general public, said Cynthia Hemeon-Plessner, senior vice president and marketing officer at New Hampshire Mutual Bancorp.  

NHMB is using social media and their site to alert customers about specific scams, Hemeon-Plessner said. The bank is seriously planning for the outbreak, ensuring it can support remote workers, but hopes they would not need the plan, said Hemeon-Plessner.  

“Should we need that, we’re in a good position to do that,” said Hemeon-Plessner. “But we’re not doing that yet. We’re responding calmly, and appropriately.”