Answer
There is no clear alternative to certain in-person aspects of a real estate trade, such as home inspections or capturing video footage of a home. While “real estate services” remain on the Ontario Government’s list of “essential services”, several other professional services that REALTORS® rely on to complete a transaction are not clearly listed. Professional services like home inspectors, videographers, photographers or land surveyors for example, are not specifically captured under the government’s essential services list.
It is important to understand that “real estate services” are considered “essential” only insofar as they are being employed to close a transaction.
However, this does not mean business as usual. All real estate services, outside of closing a transaction, should be performed remotely or through the use of technological alternatives.