‘It’s a safe market’: Canberra tipped to weather the coronavirus storm as buyers adapt

While some states are starting to feel the pinch of the coronavirus crisis, according to Domain and internal Allhomes data, Canberra’s property market is in a much better position to weather the pandemic. 

It’s been a month since Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced a ban on open inspections and traditional auctions in a bid to minimise the spread of coronavirus. 

Since then, agents have been swift to operate under the new guidelines and tailor their selling methods to the changing landscape. 

The new restrictions came into effect on March 23 and, according to Domain’s auction clearance rates, the first weekend of online auctions saw Canberra’s clearance rate top the nation at 48 per cent.

Meanwhile, fellow auction-centric cities Sydney and Melbourne lingered around 38 per cent and 36 per cent, respectively.

Canberra continued to buck the national trend with clearance rates surpassing every capital city.

On April 4, Canberra’s auction clearance rate was down to 39 per cent, the lowest it’s been since the new restrictions, but it still overshadowed Sydney at 37 per cent and Melbourne at 29 per cent.

Likewise, the following weekend on April 18, Canberra’s clearance rate peaked at 61 per cent while Sydney and Melbourne’s clearance rates remained relatively stagnant at 34 and 30 per cent, respectively.

According to Theo Koutsikamanis of McGrath North Canberra, Canberra’s public sector-led economy is helping keep the market afloat along with the capital’s growth in house prices, which he expects to continue amid the pandemic.

“When you look at the property market in Sydney and Melbourne, it’s not very sustainable because their house prices increased at a very fast pace,” Mr Koutsikamanis said.

“Now that this pandemic is here, house prices [in Sydney and Melbourne] will likely see a big drop.

“[Whereas] in Canberra, house prices have increased at a steady rate so the [effects of the pandemic] will have little difference on the market … and we are quite sheltered, it’s a safe market because employment is still strong.”

Domain senior research analyst Dr Nicola Powell echoed Mr Koutsikamanis’s comments, noting that the economic shock of the pandemic to Canberra “will be somewhat cushioned by the high proportion of government workers, where job losses have been minimal to date”. 

Internal data from Allhomes compared the property listing engagement of 3D tour views and digital inspection videos between April 6 and April 12 on both the Allhomes website and app, with the same period in 2019.

According to the figures, engagement with 3D tours jumped by 92 per cent compared to the year before and digital inspection videos increased by 36 per cent.

Between April 13 and April 19, 2020, the same data surged when compared to the year before. 3D tours increased by 281 per cent from the previous year and digital inspection views increased by 113 per cent.

The data also showed that during this period, ACT web sessions and app sessions were up by 8 per cent and 31 per cent, respectively, year-on-year.

“Canberrans are spending more time at home, they’re in isolation with their families or working from home and are browsing through different things,” Mr Koutsikamanis said.

“If they’re not on Facebook, they’re scrolling through the houses on the Allhomes app.”

While stock levels had been thinning in recent weeks, that had only pushed listings’ inquiries higher and made competition tighter, Mr Koutsikamanis said.

“People have adapted to the changes and are quite positive about the market now,” he said.

“People are looking at what the next person is doing … and now that we have by-appointment private inspections, cars are lining up and buyers can see that there are other people who are looking at the same property … that competition is still there.”

Sophie Luton of Luton Properties Manuka said Canberrans were placing importance on the type of home that they purchase, more now than before as more people self-isolated.

“What this [pandemic] has done for buyers is made them realise the importance of having a home. The home that you have, you want it to be as enjoyable as possible,” Ms Luton said.

Ms Luton is the co-agent for a five-bedroom home at 10 Ashbrook Street, Amaroo which clocked in the highest total leads* at 229 for the month of April, according to internal Allhomes data.

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“The home ticks every single box. When I was walking through the house with my appraisal sheet, I ran out of room, every box was ticked,” Ms Luton said.

“It’s the ultimate isolation home.”

The double-storey home features five spacious bedrooms with the main bedroom fitted with a double walk-in wardrobe. The open-plan living and kitchen area flows seamlessly to the outdoor deck with built-in spa and easy-care gardens.

“We have a lot of people looking for houses and have a lot of families who are looking to upsize,” Ms Luton said.

The home was expected to go under the virtual hammer on Saturday and during the three-week campaign, 45 inspections took place, 36 contracts were issued and with under 24 hours to go, 10 parties had already registered for the auction, Ms Luton said.

“A month ago, if you asked people if they’d buy a house in an online auction, they’d say no way. But it’s the only option we have now and we are already seeing a lot of people registering [to bid] as if this were a traditional auction,” she said.

*Total leads are calculated by the number of ‘Calls‘, ‘Emails’, ‘Book Inspection’ clicks; inspection times saved, and auction dates and open homes added to a calendar. It is also calculated by the number of users utilising the ‘driving directions’ option from their mobile phones; and the number of times an agent profile is clicked.