DENVER — Colorado's real estate market is starting the rebound. As it turns out, people are much more inclined to buy a house they have actually seen from the inside.
"I like the kitchen and the open space in the backyard," said Brenton Cain, while getting an in-person showing of a four-bedroom, four-bathroom Castle Rock home on Tuesday. "It’s hard to get a feel for a house just looking at a virtual tour or pictures."
He is the first potential buyer to get an in-person showing of the home since Douglas County lifted its stay-at-home order on Monday.
"We were dead in the water for about three weeks," said realtor Amy Salley, the lead buyer's agent with The Prevail Group at HomeSmart Cherry Creek. "But as soon as Douglas County opened up, we’ve seen the light at the end of the tunnel. We’ve gotten pretty busy."
Salley said that on Monday, the first day showings were allowed, she sold a town home that had been on the market for weeks in just a matter of hours.
"I felt a little bit of relief," said Salley. "We have all this business that is just sitting there and there is nothing we can do about it."
The pent-up demand is keeping realtors busy, but the new guidelines vary from county to county as some allow showings and others don't.
"It’s quite confusing because, you know, most people don’t work just in one county," said Kelly Moye, a spokeswoman with the Colorado Association of Realtors.
Moye said it's especially confusing in cities such as Littleton, which spans multiple counties. In Arapahoe and Jefferson counties, showings are not allowed. In Douglas Count, they are.
"Realtors are calling each other, texting and trying to figure out who can show and who can’t show," said Moye. "And we’re all just a little confused trying to follow the rules, but we don’t know what all the rules are."
Some clients still do not feel comfortable showing their homes or going into other people's homes, said Moye.
Meanwhile, realtors like Salley are bringing masks, gloves and hand sanitizer and taking precautions to stay safe while showing homes.
"It’s a breath of fresh air and a little bit of relief," she said. "And I feel like we’re going back to normal slowly."