NEW LIFE IN REAL ESTATE

Green shoots of recovery are now returning to the property market

AFTER living in my home for just over a year, I recently made a commitment to grow something that isn’t grass or sensitive weed in the yard.

Some 14 days later, I am incredibly proud to say there is new life in that humble herb planter box, despite my children’s attempts to sabotage it (unintentionally, of course).

Another area with promising green shoots is Cairns’ local property market. Last weekend saw the first real bout of open homes after an extended COVID-19-driven hiatus.

It was refreshing to see open home signboards out in droves and groups of buyers back through doors. Buyer behaviour has been impressive across the board, with visitors respectful of the rules throughout.

With lifted restrictions comes a renewed sense of confidence among Cairns buyers too. As an indication of the difference this positivity can make, my agency had one property open on the weekend that only had a single inquiry during Queensland’s tougher restrictions.

That same property saw six groups through last weekend and by Monday, two offers were submitted. Not necessarily a typical result in preCOVID-19 conditions, but definitely one that was welcomed both by our office and our clients.

Judging by the road map issued by the Queensland Government to easing restrictions as well as the level of inquiries Cairns agents have been fielding, transactions should begin to flow a little easier over the next few months.

Cairns locals are regaining the confidence to not only leave their homes, but loosen their purse strings as employment and businesses reclaim some normality.

As some sellers choose to hold off making a move, we can expect to see less choice come into the market in the short-term, and competition rise over well-presented homes in idyllic locations as buyers recognise low stock and fight a little harder to secure their dream home.

When closing the deal, it’s wise to plan for longer finance periods as banks continue to deal with a backlog on hardship requests and refinancing – the 21-day expectation has crept up to 28 days or more in some cases.

Conversely, you might be able to tighten things on the building and pest front, if only for a little while.

We’ve seen a lot of changes over the past few months – globally and locally – so let’s hope we’ve got some more pleasant ones and plenty of green shoots ahead of us.