Lisa: 0409 592 253
Jessica: 0400 977 833 (Property Styling)
info@homemovingplanners.com.au
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BUSINESS AS USUAL

We are unfortunately living in unique times and facing unprecedented challenges with the coronavirus pandemic. This is impacting everyone from our families, to our businesses and of course those currently selling or looking to sell their properties.

At Home Moving Planners it is business as usual and we are still seeing enquiries, we are still decluttering and clearing estates and we are still styling homes. All of our properties that went to Auction on the 14th of March sold:

IMPACT ON THE PROPERTY MARKET:

At this stage there hasn’t been any significant impact on the property market. If anything the market is still performing strong with properties selling despite the uncertainty that is surrounding us at the moment. The REIV reported a strong clearance rate of 70% on the weekend of the 14th March, up on this time last year, which had a clearance rate of only 57% (see link below). The number of people at open homes may be declining, however the number of private inspections recorded has increased.

This shows that buyers who are really serious are still around and there is still a market for buying property whilst trying to avoid crowds. The Australian residential property market has historically fared well against negative economic times, mainly due to housing showing less volatility and decline than share markets which are currently being hit hard. The corelogic.com.au (see below) stated that “major share market losses and recession are not necessarily predictors of declines in housing values”.

The Financial Review (see link below) stated that Buyers and estate agents are claiming there is still a high demand for properties and that there has not been a decline in sold prices.

There has however been an increase in public auction dates being brought forward or being switched to alternative locations such as boardrooms or other techniques such as online auctions to assist with social distancing strategies. Agents are also starting to develop alternative strategies such as offering inspections only to those who place expressions of interest on the property, in a bid to assist with the possibility of further restrictions on crowd numbers that could impact open homes and public auctions.

WHY YOU SHOULD STILL GET YOUR HOUSE ON THE MARKET:

Although some people may consider delaying their sale until they are more certain about the market, the overall consensus at this time is that there hasn’t been a significant or immediate impact.  Reports from REIV show a majority of owners have decided against any delays. The Financial Review stated “that you would not guess when looking at the property market currently that we are in a time of uncertainty and upheaval.” If anything agents we personally work with have noticed an increase in enquires in the last week as people rush to get their homes on the market.

It is also worth considering that with record low interest rates, possible reduction of stock on the market and many buyers still seriously interested in purchasing property, this presents great conditions to sell.

WHY YOU SHOULD STILL PREPARE YOU HOUSE FOR SALE NOW:

For those potential clients wishing to delay putting their house on the market until they are more certain, we are strongly encouraging clients to at least have their house/estate cleared, cleaned and any maintenance done now. With the potential for many other properties delaying being on the market, there is also the potential for there to be a large rush for a number of properties to quickly get on the market  all at once when things calm down. Businesses such as ourselves and trades such as painters will suddenly be in very high demand and if you have delayed the preparation stage you will be further delaying your ability to quickly get your house on the market. Should you, during this time of delay still have your property prepared for sale, this will allow you to be able to quickly put your property on the market. This puts your home in the first in best-served position and avoid having your property in high competition with everyone else once things calm down.

Furthermore, in times of uncertainty in the property market, it is even more paramount to have your property presented at its best. Vendors during these times can’t rely simply on land value, or houses receiving exceptional prices anymore. Decluttering and styling your property for sale is the cheapest and best way to achieve the best possible sales price.

PROPERTY STYLING DURING THIS TIME:

 Similar to above, once everything calms down there will be a huge rush for vacant properties to be styled for sale. We are encouraging those who are interested in having their property styled but are unsure about the current situation and market, to get us to quote on your property remotely via floor plans or key safe access to get the ball rolling.

We are also encouraging these vendors to book in now to be in the first in best-served position allowing us to do all the necessary preparation and styling work at our warehouse so that your property is ready to go when you are. This will reduce any further delays imposed by having to come out and do a quote, selection and preparation times at our warehouse and high demand from other vendors who have pushed back install availabilities.

WHAT OUR TEAM ARE DOING AND HOW WE CAN ASSIST YOU AT THIS TIME:

Should you want to proceed with putting your property on the market we are able to assist you as normal. We are a small business with a small team who have limited contact with other people during our workdays. Our team are either working on clearing an estate/deceased estate, at our warehouse preparing styling jobs or installing on vacant properties with only 1-2 other staff members present

However we are implementing extra precautions for yours, your potential buyers and our staff’s safety.

  • Wiping down all door handles, surfaces, keys touched at our warehouse and at all job sites
  • Wiping down all of our furniture as it comes back from properties as well as before it is installed into a property.
  • Wearing masks on job sites where necessary
  • The ability to quote remotely using floor plans, or placing key safes on properties to be able to quote without the need for social contact.
  • Utilising technology where possible to reduce social contact such as face time while working on clearing estates.

We ask that during this time if you are unwell, you do not attend properties our staff are working on even if staff are not present at the time, and to limit your need to be present at the property if it is not necessary even if you are not unwell.

During this time we will unfortunately not be taking on any part style jobs with clients residing in the property, for the safety and wellbeing of our staff as well as vendors.

We look forward to helping our clients receive more exceptional sale prices this year and helping vendors to be best prepared during this difficult period.

 

References:

REIV: https://reiv.com.au/market-insights

Financial Review: https://www.afr.com/property/residential/real-estate-sellers-revise-tactics-in-response-to-virus-impact-20200318-p54bcc

Core Logic: https://www.corelogic.com.au/news/coronavirus-and-australian-property-market

 

 

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