Today is Wednesday 10th June and we are officially back into Level 1, though it has felt that way for some time.
Today is the day that the government will begin to take applications for and release the second wage subsidy, with the aim to support those going through financial hardship as a result of Covid-19.
House prices are still holding strong at the moment which I will cover later in this piece- but once the second 8-week wage subsidy ends, where will we find ourselves?
It’s certainly a funny feeling out and about in real estate at the moment, and it is great to be able to get so many opinions from others on where they think the market might be heading.
Buyers, vendors and agents alike are all speculating on the next 6 months and what it might have in store over the September election and beyond.
The general consensus and from those who (like me) are a bit apprehensive of making grand sweeping statements of a ‘huge crash’ or a ‘massive boom’, is that no one can accurately predict the market and we’re going to have to wait and see…
In my small world, things are going pretty well.
My team and I were slightly uncertain in the way we might have been heading post-lock down but things have almost immediately picked up.
I’ve managed to bring two listings on which will both be going live within the next two weeks, and their auctions will be close to the beginning of July.
We also have another one of my listings under contract with some conditions due to be satisfied within the next fortnight.
I’ve been having a very similar amount of phone conversations with slightly less response, but there are always slow patches so I won’t pay it much thought.
Vendor’s are very much still interested in the market price of their properties and I have personally carried out 5 appraisals since being back with another 2 coming this week.
These numbers are certainly down from the 4-5 per week that I was doing late 2019 but momentum will slowly build again.
With all things considered, it doesn’t really feel like much has changed at all.
The rest of the team at Harcourts Cooper & Co have been equally as busy, as shown in the numbers below.
For how long will the prices hold steady?
Quotable Value (a govt. owned market valuation company) have recently stated that housing values have already come down from recent highs but it could be several months before we see the full effect of Covid-19.
“A disconnect in expectations is developing between vendors and purchasers amidst declining sales volumes, suggesting we are on the brink of material declines for the first time in nearly 12 years,” the report said.
This is clear on the front line of real estate as well.
Buyers are of the expectation that due to market circumstance and the pandemic, they will be able to get onto the property ladder at a more affordable level.
Vendors on the other hand, believe that their properties are worth just as much as they were before.
Some sales would support the vendor reasoning, achieving high numbers due to low-stock and high buyer demand.
While stock is low, it is hard to see many properties underselling so I am still of the opinion it is a good time to come to market as we do not know what the rest of the year holds.
What an exciting time to be in this industry, I hope this was of some value!
