Ottawa real estate professionals innovating ways to serve new-home buyers

For the last six weeks or so, for many industries, it has not been ‘business as usual.’ Nonetheless, the unusual circumstances dictated by the coronavirus pandemic has led to some surprisingly innovative ways to serve consumers, especially in Ottawa’s new-home and real estate markets.

“The impact of COVID-19 on Ottawa’s new-home market was felt almost instantaneously mid-March when emergency measures were put into place,” Cheryl Rice, president of PMA Brethour (Ottawa) and a real estate broker, tells New Home + Condo Guide.

“At PMA Brethour Realty Group, the pandemic presented us the opportunity to review our service delivery and to shift to where we could add the most value to our clients during this difficult period. We quickly mobilized virtual office environments for all PMA team members nationwide to replace physical interactions with each other and with our clients. We also merged our PMA sales training and team learning sessions to an online videoconferencing venue to deliver training and policy direction. Much of this information is passed on to our clients for their benefit and that of their customers. Physical distancing has placed obvious constraints on the industry and our ability to service our customers in traditional ways, but this new virtual way of doing business has increased our ability to deliver more personalized service and customized solutions.”

By implementing easy-to-use technology, PMA has made the information accessible for anyone, adding online market data and videoconferencing tools such as Zoom and Microsoft Teams. Sales teams now plan virtual launches, and transactions such as the completion of the agreement of purchase and sale that would normally require an in-person meeting at the sales office, are being fulfilled using DocuSign solutions.
“Emails enhanced with video messages are also growing in popularity for follow-up communications,” says Rice.

The company has also created the PMA Insider Concierge Service for prospective buyers and developer clients, a one-stop service through a dedicated work-from-home call centre team, to provide preliminary information about its builder communities. The call centre arranges virtual appointments with the sales team, who are also working from home.

One of the positive outcomes of the new business reality, says Rice, is how people are feeling united in working together.

“What I’ve observed is interesting and not at all surprising. Everyone in our community has come together in this fight; collectively we feel more empathy and caring for each other. My team and I are reaching out to our clients and prospects not to sell, but to check in and ask how they’re feeling and coping with the pandemic. And they’re doing the same for us. We talk about our families, the best DIY videos, we exchange recipes, and we share perspectives on this new reality. Courtesy and compassion are first and foremost, and our clients seem to appreciate it.”

Moving forward, Rice reflects on the company’s corporate culture motto: Stay Positive, Stay the Course, and Create a Sense of Occasion. Stay positive; the situation is temporary – things will normalize. Stay the course and take your time.

“Always remember that anything as monumental as a real estate purchase should be a long-term play. Have confidence in the long term but do your homework, educate yourself about all aspects of your purchase decision, and talk to the right professionals.”

As for the future, Rice says this:

“I’d like to start with this quote by U.S. President John F. Kennedy: ‘When written in Chinese, the word “crisis” is composed of two characters. One represents danger and the other represents opportunity.’

"Ottawa’s real estate sector demonstrated creativity, innovation and adaptability during a pandemic – this is an incredible achievement that represents the resiliency of our local industry, with positive implications for the future. The pandemic crisis has brought our local industry back to the basics of delivering strong customer service and instilling pride in building communities. We are all fortunate to be part of the single most substantial financial investment that new-home buyers will ever make.”