Lockdown is making some vendors nervous but the message from the data is clear: don’t be
- Written by Tim McKibbin, CEO, Real Estate Institute of NSW
Lockdown is making some vendors nervous but the message from the data is clear: don’t be.
Clearance rates of around 80 per cent and an average of more than 10 registered bidders per online auction begs the question as to why a vendor would delay listing their property, even in a lockdown context.
Obviously the lockdown impacts the way transactions must occur but it is not impacting demand.
Technological advances in the way properties are presented, shown and sold are a worthwhile investment by agents for those buyers happy to proceed without physically experiencing a property first.
Lower auction volumes are a natural result of lockdown as some vendors hit the brakes until the lockdown-exit path becomes clearer.
But those who proceed are attracting strong interest. People don’t abandon their property plans during lockdown and in recent weeks we’ve seen a strong appetite among buyers to proceed.
Once we came out of lockdown last time, the market quickly re-gathered momentum, and the current strength of demand suggests this will happen again.
In the meantime, agents will continue to do what they can in a COVID-safe manner, and constrained supply will continue to support prices.
There has been speculation recently that the current COVID outbreak may take some of the heat out of the property market.
But it’s hard to argue selling conditions could be any more advantageous for vendors than they are at present. For those thinking of selling, the time is now.
