Real estate agents in the Five Towns react to governor shutting down all 'non-essential' business

After Gov. Andrew Cuomo ordered all “non-essential” businesses to close, effective on the evening of Sunday, March 22, real estate agents in the Five Towns who are in the non-essential category reacted.

Essential services include medical, police, fire, water, sewer and food, including restaurants, which he said would be allowed to continue offering takeout.

Cuomo said he knew the executive order would cause “disruption.”  “I accept full responsibility ...” he said at a March 20 news conference. “There is no one else who is responsible for this decision.” 

There have not been any decisions about the showing of open houses. Alex Sajovits, a real estate salesperson for V.I. Properties in Hewlett noted that he doesn't want to speculate on any future decisions on showing houses. “I have people who wanted to see a home today but now want to see it on Sunday,” Sajovits said. “Next week can be a completely different story for us. We’re taking things on a day by day basis"

Sajovits noted that business has been declining. “My number of buyers have been down 50 percent,” he said. “It’s not as busy as it should be and it’s a tough business when people aren't coming out to buy."

Despite the drop in business, Sajovits remained positive about the future. “Despite the current uncertainties, I think everyone will be in good shape for the future,” he said. "We're Americans, we're resilient and I think we’ll be OK.”

Gil Shemtov is a real estate agent for Douglas Elliman who exclusively works with Five Towns properties. He described business as different at the moment. “Since last week, appointment requests have become a bit more sparse," Shemtov said. “I had a few showings but not up to the usual standard.”

He said that he thinks buyers are taking a wait and see approach to buying a house. “I think that what we’re going to see is a deferment in activity from what is normal,” he said. “I think that many of my clients are just approaching things patiently.”

The decision to shut down a majority of businesses would hurt, the governor said. Civil fines would be imposed on businesses that ignore the order. They might also be shut down indefinitely.

He also ordered the halt to any residential and commercial evictions for 90 days. Mass transit, he said, would remain operational in order to carry essential workers to their jobs.

The closure of businesses, Cuomo said, would be for the “foreseeable future.” “This is not life as usual,” he said.