Property News by Miriam Sandkuhler of Property Mavens – A Hotspotting Partner

Miriam Sandkuhler

With the property industry now having experience working online, it has continued to operate seamlessly over the past few weeks with the return to Stage 3 restrictions in metropolitan Melbourne and the Mitchell Shire. Auctions continue to be conducted online, as well as inspections in those areas where face-to-face meetings cannot take place.

While many sellers are choosing to hold their listings back from the market, buyers are continuing to be active, with properties transacting, as professionals guide them through the new way of doing things.

I am fielding wide-ranging enquiry from buyers – including first homebuyers, investors and owner-occupiers – for property in metro and regional areas of Victoria ranging in price from $350,000 to $2 million.

If you need advice or help – whether you’re buying or selling – Property Mavens is here to guide you through the property market during the COVID-19 crisis and beyond.  To talk to a qualified and highly regarded buyers’ agent or seller’s advocate, contact us today.

Expert Insight: Where is the property market in Victoria headed?

The question on everybody’s lips at the moment is what will happen to Victoria’s property market when the lockdown in our state ends.

We don’t a crystal ball to tell you what will happen in the future, but we can learn from the lessons of the past – that is, what happened in the last COVID-19 lockdown.

We saw housing market activity substantially disrupted, with low listing and sales numbers, while restrictions were in place, but there was a sharp rise once lockdown policies eased around mid May. As confidence returned to the market new listings increased and were tracking 18% higher than a year ago through the first week of July, while sales picked up over May and June to be 59% higher than the low seen in April, according to CoreLogic data. Clearance rates also picked up from 20% in early April to the early 60% after restrictions were lifted.

The fall in dwelling values was mild, with the market stronger than in 2019. The latest REIV figures show house prices in Metropolitan Melbourne fell by 3.5% over the June quarter, but are still 6.1% higher than at the same time last year. In regional Victoria house values were stable, with the quarterly median house price up by 0.1% over the past quarter and 3.7% over the year.

In this current lockdown the market has proven to be resilient so far with online auction clearance rates sitting in the 40% range. We anticipate activity will return to higher levels once restrictions ease, just as it did last time. In fact, there will likely be pent up demand that will see the housing market significantly boosted.

There are still very active first homebuyers, upgraders and downsizers looking for the right property. Now is a great time for vendors to be selling, with less competition and a shortage of supply helping to underpin prices.

An experienced and expert buyers’ agent such as Property Mavens can provide advice and help buyers and sellers to navigate any market. If you are a buyer or seller that needs assistance, contact us today for an obligation-free discussion.