BEFORE Hurricane Melissa, realtors had just under 1,000 MLS-listed properties for rent or sale in the areas worst affected by the storm. Now, as many scramble to restore their homes and places of business, they must also assess if deals have been undone and they’ll have to nudge clients back to the bargaining table.

“Immediately after the storm we told our members to go and check on [the Multiple Listing System (MLS) properties] because they may need to be taken off the market temporarily, they may need to be revalued — those kinds of things. The pictures might have to be updated, because we require listings to have accurate information. If the property is damaged and you have pictures of a place that is in perfect condition on the website, that listing is now in breach. We issued a call for everybody to update the listings,” president of the Realtors Association of Jamaica Gabrielle Gilpin-Hudson told the Jamaica Observer’s Real Estate on the Rock last week.

“We had quite a few listings that were already under contract or under offer. Ones that were under offer, you might have to have some renegotiation because the property has been damaged or destroyed,” she noted.

Then there is the added challenge, the RAJ president and attorney explained, of the high demand for loss adjustors.

“There are a number of properties that are in the middle of being transacted — basically the transactions are paused, waiting on somebody to assess the damage, and waiting on the insurance process to take place,” said Gilpin-Hudson.

She explained that in circumstances like these it’s not as simple as getting a new valuation done, and the process is different for insured versus uninsured property.

Real estate is commission-based, so with some transactions in limbo at a time of year that is traditionally slow, some realtors are feeling the pinch — especially those whose places of residence or business have been battered by Hurricane Melissa.

“We have received reports of significant operational disruption from members in western parishes — property damage, loss of income, limited client activity, and in some cases total interruption of business operations,” Gilpin-Hudson told the Sunday Observer.

The RAJ has been providing support for members through a variety of channels. The association’s president said chapter representatives and the RAJ secretariat have checked on members to assess individual needs; and the RAJ has set up an internal Hurricane Melissa Relief Task Force to determine how best to support members, based on data collected from its Hurricane Melissa Impact Survey. The RAJ is also making a concerted effort to be part of the country’s effort to rebuild.

“We are advocating with key stakeholders to ensure that the real estate sector is included in national recovery conversations. We have provided educational resources and support for navigating post-disaster market shifts, including mental health support, valuation concerns, insurance issues, and client communication,” explained Gilpin-Hudson.

The RAJ has also played a crucial role in providing the National Association of Realtors (NAR) in the US, of which the local group is an affiliate member, with factual information on the impact the storm has had on Jamaica’s real estate market.

Gilpin-Hudson was invited to give a report during this year’s NAR conference held in Houston, Texas in mid-November. In the early days after the storm the RAJ took a decision to channel funds they would have normally spent to attend the event into helping its members recover.

“When we told NAR about this, the leadership team, they were very, very concerned for us. They extended their support and they said, ‘Listen, come and we will contribute to the cost of your trip because we need you here more than ever. We want you to share with the conference what is happening in Jamaica.’ They allowed me to go on a panel and speak about some of the damage, and we were able to meet with one of their arms — which is called the Realtors Relief Foundation — and we were able to discuss with them how they can raise money and support our relief initiatives in Jamaica, in partnership with the RAJ,” said Gilpin-Hudson.

She added that NAR President Kevin Sears, who has visited Jamaica in the past, pledged that the NAR would provide support.

“We are expecting them to give us some assistance for our members and assist in general rebuilding efforts. We’ve established a page with AFJ [American Friends of Jamaica], and I think also Food For the Poor, to do some of that work,” Gilpin-Hudson told the Sunday Observer.

And even as the RAJ galvanises to respond to the crisis there is recognition that Hurricane Melissa has a silver lining.

“This is an opportunity for us to rebuild some of those affected areas better. A lot of the infrastructure in those areas is very old, and it needed more maintenance; the storm really showed that up. It is a good opportunity for us to see improvements in that infrastructure. And, from a long-term perspective, better infrastructure generally translates to increased demand and better prices,” said Gilpin-Hudson.

“Once properties are appropriately priced…I think these properties will sell, and they will continue to sell. The only thing is that we do see sometimes where owners are very sentimental about their properties — they have an idea of value in their head that is not necessarily in line with the markets — so we definitely encourage persons that want to sell to be realistic about what they’re asking for,” she added.