Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf issued a shut-down order on March 19 that did not recognize real estate companies as essential businesses, prohibiting in-home home showings and inspections.
On Tuesday, the Pennsylvania House passed House Bill 2412 in a 125 to 77 vote, allowing real estate services to be conducted uniformly across the state, according to the Pennsylvania Association of Realtors.
Now the Bill has moved to the Senate, undergoing committee consideration.
Last week, PAR issued a call-to-action to its members, asking them to contact respective representatives in support of the legislation.
“We saw a tremendous response from Realtors in just a few days. PAR is grateful to Rep. Polinchock and the other 124 state representatives who supported this bill,” said PAR President Bill Festa in a statement. “They understand how severely real estate has been curtailed in Pennsylvania, despite the fact that most other states have been safely conducting real estate throughout this crisis.”
Meanwhile, the Department of State issued guidelines on what in-person real estate is permitted and outlined how the real estate industry would reopen under Gov. Wolf’s red-yellow-green plan.
“The association believes a fractured reopening of the real estate industry will continue to impede consumers’ abilities to purchase homes where they want to live. Requiring the industry to reopen by region would create a very confusing situation for clients,” Festa said.
“We know that real estate is being conducted safely in almost every other state in the country. That’s why PAR will continue to support Rep. Polinchock’s efforts to pass House Bill 2412, which would allow for the uniform reopening of real estate across the state.”
Another state that had curtailed real estate activities, Colorado, started relaxing those rules this week.
