JACKSONVILLE, N.C. — The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the landscape for many industries, including real estate.

Meeting with clients at their homes is still something Diane Castro-Perez with Coldwell Banker Sea Coast does on a regular basis. She appreciates the in-person meetings and thinks they're beneficial for the short and long-term relationships with her clients.

But those meetings mean traveling, which has been limited for the health of herself and her clients. So, she has adjusted some of her methods.

“Even if they're a mile away we will put them on Zoom and FaceTime, and they would show me their whole house, we'd walk through it, I'd ask them all the questions I needed to, and they would ask me questions just like it I was at their house,” Castro-Perez says.

Although Castro-Perez and other real estate agents throughout the state have been forced to change the way they work, she and her team have actually seen more success this year than they did last year, increasing the team's unit sales by 20%.

“Our team has had to adapt because we had no choice, but they quickly adapt, and now they are able to make changes in their schedules to show houses different and to go see houses differently as well,” Castro-Perez says.

She's confident that her team can continue to build on that success going into 2021, and she looks forward to watching the industry as a whole continue to thrive.