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V O L . X X V I N O. V I I I A P R I L 2 0 , 2 0 2 0 18 R E A L E S TAT E / C O N S T R U C T I O N / E N G I N E E R I N G "Landlords have tenants who are out of work," he says. "It's not clear when they're going back to work or how they'll get caught up on rent. I think there will be a difficult transition period, when there's less income in the system, before we get back to being stable." Vitalius, who is president of the Southern Maine Landlord Association, says the association is offering guidance to landlords, suggesting they proactively reach out to tenants to ask if they antici- pate having trouble paying rent. "In all cases I've heard of so far, banks have been willing to work with the landlords," he says. "We're all in this chain linked together. If the tenants can't pay the landlords, many landlords can absorb that a little bit. But the landlords need some give on the other side, such as deferral on their mortgage payments. If everyone gives a little bit for some period, we'll get through this." Single-family homes After a strong year of residential sales, brokers are adapting to client and customer concerns around COVID- 19, says Tom Cole, 2020 president of the Maine Association of Realtors and managing broker of Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate e Masiello Group in Brunswick. In March, the pace of residential sales appeared to slow as some buyers became more cautious, he says. "But other buyers are taking advan- tage of lower interest rates," Cole says. Overall, "We expect to see a softening of the numbers." Virtual tours had been in use for years, but are now more prevalent. "I'll walk through a house with my iPhone and show them different parts of the home," he says of potential buyers. Scared buyers Ellsworth activity has slowed, says Acadia Realty Group broker and owner Steve Shelton. "People from out of the area are cancelling their planned showings every day now," Shelton says. "ings are still happening for sure. Just not as much." With 23 agents, his firm would have at least half showing properties of all types at any given time, he says. at's changed. Recently, "one of my agents had some land showings, but that's it." He adds, "Properties that were under contract are falling apart because the buyers are scared." In Bangor, industrial and office deals are staying on track, says Bev Uhlenhake with Epstein Commercial Real Estate. "ere are a variety of responses by customers during this time," she says. "For deals in which we are involved, we are seeing most industrial or office deals continue. e industrial sector, which has had pent-up demand for quite a while, continues to be the strongest sec- tor. e retail sector, not surprisingly, is showing the least strength." But "businesses are generally very cautious about making real estate decisions during times of great uncer- tainty," she says. Still, there are essential businesses in all sectors that have real estate needs, she says, citing a firm that is working with a health care agency whose lease is expiring and must move. Winners and losers Given today's uncertainties, Uhlenhake stresses that observations about the industry are just a snapshot in time. "We expect things will continue to change," she says. Says Moulton, "I think there will be winner and losers. A lot of good busi- nesses and property owners will struggle." Laurie Schreiber, Mainebiz senior writer, can be reached at lschreiber @ mainebiz.biz » C O N T I N U E D F RO M P R E V I O U S PA G E NEW INCENTIVES for high-performance heating and cooling systems FOR MORE INFORMATION, VISIT EFFICIENCYMAINE.COM OR CALL 866-376-2463 Talk to your contractor or building team about the benefits of Variable Refrigerant Flow systems, including: • efficiency, • quiet operation, • compact size, • individualized temperature control, and • ability to heat and cool different zones simultaneously. COOL HEAT F I L E P H O T O / T I M G R E E N WAY Brit Vitalius Brit Vitalius at at Vitalius Real Vitalius Real Estate Group Estate Group in in Portland sees Portland sees mixed investor mixed investor reactions: some reactions: some close quickly, close quickly, others renegotiate others renegotiate or walk away. or walk away. F O C U S

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