Melbourne’s property market accelerates after a weeks-long halt
- Posted By Prince Lakshman
Less than 24 hours after the easing of restrictions to allow private inspections, the local property market experienced a surge in home inspection bookings.
Agents were taking calls from buyers and vendors as early as Sunday afternoon after the Premier made the announcement. Private inspections had been banned for the past seven weeks under stage four restrictions. The recent announcement came as a surprise as the re-opening of the real sector was scheduled a month later.
Buyers and tenants are now allowed to travel more than 5km from their homes to inspect properties. However, Melburnians are still not permitted to travel to regional Victoria for the same purpose.
Home sellers also welcome this news as they can now have photographers, videographers, stylists and other related services to develop the marketing strategy for selling their properties.
One agent is permitted to show one prospective buyer or tenant, along with their household or intimate partner, through residential properties and display homes for 15 minutes, according to the Department of Health and Human Services.
Auctions can still only be conducted online, with on-site sales set to resume as part of the next step on the government’s road map for reopening due to kick in from October 26.
Real Estate Institute of Victoria chief executive Gil King was set to meet with state government officials on Monday and hoped to clarify whether commercial properties could also be inspected.
The peak industry body welcomed easing of some restrictions, with president Leah Calnan stating they were “recognition the real estate profession can be trusted to conduct inspections in a safe and responsible manner”.
The last step on the road map — to apply from when the state has no new cases for two weeks — will allow real estate to operate more freely with “safety measures and record keeping”.