31st August 2020: Stage 4 Lockdown No Roadblock as Buyers Snap Up Homes

Brought to you by Realestate.com.au - Stephanie McLean

Stage four lockdown no roadblock as buyers snap up homes 'sight unseen'

Just when Melbourne real estate agents thought property sales would come to a grinding halt during stage four lockdown, a number of top sales have left some agents pleasantly surprised – and the buyers didn't even get a whiff of the properties.

The strict six-week lockdown to stop the spread of COVID-19 cases in Melbourne put a ban on live auctions and private home inspections, leaving agents worried that prospective buyers would shy away if they couldn't "touch and feel" the property.

But that hasn't been the case for Mike Beardsley, senior sales consultant at Jellis Craig, Boroondara, who has sold two family homes in Camberwell, sight unseen, during stage four restrictions.

The superb Victorian villa at 5 Kingsley Street was listed just as the stage four restrictions came into effect, meaning no one got to inspect the property. But Mr Beardsley said he never considered pulling the listing.

"The other agents around me told me I should, but I was just very confident with the property and the style of the property that we could get a result. [Homes] always seem to go well in Kingsley Street and it's a beautiful period home.

Buyers could not resist the old-world charm of this Camberwell home. Picture: realestate.com.au/buy

"I had 70 or 80 enquiries on it and I had one buyer from Hong Kong who's an Australian expat looking to return. A building inspection was done and they decided to offer."

The home sold for an undisclosed price, but Mr Beardsley said it surpassed the top of the range, in excess of $3m.

The second Camberwell home, a five-bedroom, three-bathroom abode at 5 Remon Avenue was already on the market before the lockdown, but the vendors were yet to find a buyer.

"I did have a number of buyers through before stage four hit, but we didn't get an offer. Then stage four hit and a new buyer came along and put an offer in, sight unseen," Mr Beardsley said.

"[The buyer] had sold and was obviously keen to secure something, and then it just came down to putting it all into perspective and looking at why [the home] was value for money and why they should take the plunge and put pen to paper."

The family home at 5 Remon Avenue, Camberwell sold for $2.3m. Picture: realestate.com.au/sold

The home sold for the mid-range price of $2.3m.

Director at Marshall White, Bayside, Matthew Pillios, sold the family home at 166 New Street, Brighton off market during the lockdown, also sight unseen.

A local developer snapped up the home for an undisclosed price in the vicinity of $3.6m-$3.8m.

Mr Pillios said he always thought selling the property during stage four restrictions would be achievable because street and feasibility are always greater considerations than the home itself for developers – but he was still stoked with the result.

"This specific developer was one of the first ones that I rang, he had been looking for a site for a while and he really knew the area. The gift was that he actually lived within a two-kilometre radius… so he decided to walk past the house during his hour of exercise," Mr Pillios said.

"He walked around just to get a feel for [the site] outside, just to see what his gut thought. And then after negotiating a lot of feasibility with him, he made an offer and I negotiated it and I was able to sell it for the owners."

Mr Pillios said the buyer is now engaging with some architects and leaning towards building a single or two dwellings.

Melbourne buyer activity is surprisingly strong

Chief economist at realestate.com.au, Nerida Conisbee, said Melbourne buyer activity on the site has remained strong during the stage four lockdown, despite fears of a dramatic slowdown.

"It shows that people see this lockdown more as business as usual and that there is a timeframe for it and they will get through it," Ms Conisbee said, adding that interest in the higher end of the market is definitely not waning.

Melbourne buyer activity on realestate.com.au is up compared to the same time last year. Picture: Getty.

"It just seems to be the case that everything at that end of town is still doing quite well and it is primarily because job loss has been concentrated amongst younger people [with less income]. We've got incredibly low interest rates of below 2% now and so I think buyers are seeing now as an opportunity to jump in.

"Even though they can't see the property, [buyers] have obviously got the confidence that a house in Camberwell is going to be a decent purchase."

Ms Conisbee added, virtual inspections have likely played a key role in many strong lockdown sales, as they seem to be something that buyers are taking to quite well.

But while virtual inspections are a useful tool, selling homes in such a strict lockdown environment comes down to luck, said Adam Docking, senior vice president of the Real Estate Institute of Victoria.

"There's always going to be somebody that buys a property sight unseen and it could be for a myriad of reasons – it could be the style of the property, it could that they want to knock it down anyway so they want to just look at the land," Mr Docking said.

"Your standard purchaser will not buy a property without touching it, feeling it and looking at it because it's more of an emotional purchase."

Mr Docking added that it's been a really tough time for the industry as stock has "dried right up".

"There are no new properties coming on the books, we can't even do the preliminaries, the pre-marketing, photos and floor plans and so forth. As soon as the 14th of September hits, hopefully, we'll be racing around like crazy people trying to pre-market all of these properties," he said.

Strong sales point to bonzer spring

Despite the lockdown, Ms Conisbee said buyer activity on realestate.com.au is currently well up compared to last year, even after a small drop in recent weeks. She added, pent-up demand in Melbourne during the lockdown period will likely burst in spring.

"If we look at what's happened after severe lockdowns around the world, if you look at New York, London and New Zealand, we have seen that after very severe lockdowns where very little transaction activity takes place, there is a very sharp rebound," she said.

"So, at this stage we can certainly say there is likely to be quite a bit of pent-up demand ready to go once restrictions are lifted."

Experts predict a flurry of activity in Melbourne's property market post-lockdown. Picture: realestate.com.au/buy

Mr Docking said he expects things will be quiet to start with because selling agents will need some time to pre-market homes, but agreed that buyers will be "champing at the bit".

"If New Zealand is anything to go by, there's going to be this massive letting off of steam as soon as the gates are opened… but then there's going to be this period of marketing, where the sales numbers will be very low."