Sweeping coronavirus restrictions now in place

PROPERTY auctions were banned from midnight on Wednesday under a new suite of measures aimed at curbing the spread of coronavirus.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced Tuesday night auctions and open for inspections would have to stop.

“Real estate auctions and open house inspections … that cannot continue,” Mr Morrison said.

The Prime Minister was not clear on how long the restrictions would be in place but the ban on both on-site and in-room auctions effectively puts much of the real estate market on ice.

The announcement was part of a string of tougher restrictions on gatherings of people, such as closing food courts in shopping centres.

It is not clear how the significant change to selling property will affect the housing market as agents have already begun to offer online bidding services and virtual property tours.

There will likely be a dramatic drop in the number of listings, but housing experts warned lower transaction volumes would not necessarily mean prices would drop.

My Housing Market economist Andrew Wilson recently told The Daily Telegraph “discretionary” sellers would be largely insulated from changes in the market because they could postpone their sales if need be.

Those who were forced to sell for reasons such as divorce would have to accept whatever price the market offered, he said.

Real Estate Institute of Australia president Adrian Kelly said he expected one-on-one private inspections to become the norm. Auctions could be conducted via telephone bidding or online bidding, he said.

The restrictions could put much of the market on hold.

Ray White group managing director Dan White said sellers would have to adapt.

“The key message to take away is that all real estate onsite and in room auctions and open house inspections will be cancelled as of Wednesday night, but our members will still be able to host virtual property tours, private inspections and online/digital auctions, as we have been encouraging,” Mr White said.

Safety first for Toowoomba agents

As the COVID-19 pandemic creates mayhem across the globe, eyes have turned to the local real estate market and how this contagion will affect us – whether buying, selling or renting.

We asked a number of local agents what they were doing to reduce exposure to the virus.

Lindsay Southwell of Ray White Toowoomba said he and his staff were “committed to our client’s needs and helping them achieve truly premium results.

“We are also committed to ensuring the health and safety of our clients which is why we are closely following government guidelines and recommendations regarding social distancing and hygiene,” he said.

“We have implemented alternatives to greeting with a handshake and adopted new ways of showing property to our prospective buyers – digital inspections via facetime, Skype and the like are now an everyday practice for our sales and rental staff.

“Just another of our processes to ensure we uphold the health and safety of our valued clients.”

David Snow of Peter Snow & Co. said, “there are growing concerns from both buyers and sellers about the effects of the coronavirus pertaining to the accepted practice of inspecting homes for sale individually and via the typical open house method”.

He believes that demand for property will remain relatively steady in Toowoomba, especially in light of the recent dramatic drop in share values in recent weeks.

“Both homeowners and potential buyers are seeking greater assurances that internal inspections of property are undertaken with the safety of all involved being uppermost.”

Tressa Lindenberg of Sovereign Property Partners said, “We are definitely in uncharted and unprecedented times due to the coronavirus and navigating around this is very difficult”.

“This is definitely not a ‘onepronged’ approach, everyone needs to co-operate in the interests of workplace health and safety so we can make sure we are safe and also doing our best to keep this virus at bay if at all possible.

“One of the greatest assets I have is my team, they are with me 100 per cent. We meet every morning to plan, as every day is changing … so we have to be changing as well … we have the ability and experience to work from home if that time comes.

“From the first indication this was getting very serious I have been communicating with owners and tenants and because of this we are still doing routine inspections.

“We have respectfully asked tenants to wait outside if possible, we wear masks and gloves at all times with disinfectant wipes for the doors and keys.

“We communicate with tenants daily to explain it is their obligation to inform us if they are in quarantine, have travelled or are not well, at all times we practice social distancing.

“We dearly want to keep the properties rented as we know some of our owners are going to experience a very rocky road and we also want to make sure we can provide the service to house people efficiently and responsibly.

“I consult daily with experts in this field, so the team can be best prepared for what is to come – whatever that will be.”