NSW set to lift ban on open homes and on-site auctions but will ACT follow suit?

The past six weeks have seen the Canberra real estate industry take a turn and adapt to the changing landscape that is COVID-19, but across the border our neighbouring suburbs in NSW will see their property market start to return to the pre-pandemic norm.

The NSW government announced the ban on public open homes and on-site auctions would be lifted from this Saturday, while the ACT government has yet to announce whether it would follow a similar lift on restrictions.

After pivoting to private inspections and virtual auctions on March 25 with the rest of the nation, NSW agents have welcomed the latest announcement.

Under the new guidelines, real estate agents are urged to avoid large gatherings at open homes and to maintain physical distancing at 1.5 metres.

It will also be mandatory for agents to provide hand sanitiser at inspections and on-site auctions, with properties to undergo a thorough clean before and after an open home or auction.

George Southwell of Ray White Rural Canberra and Yass said while he’s had success in online auctions over the past six weeks, the announcement was the first step back to “normal practices”.

“This is a positive story for us to tell. The property market is still transacting. Our volume of listings is down but the level of transactions, funnily enough, has gone up in the past four weeks … there are still buyers looking to purchase,”  Mr Southwell said.

“I believe this announcement will lead to increased competition within the market.”

Mr Southwell noted that open inspections would be a relief for many agents who, in recent weeks, had been booking private inspections back-to-back.

“Open for inspections over a weekend is an Australian tradition and I predict that we will see more people through open homes than we have in the past because it’ll be one of the only activities that they will be able to undertake on their weekends,” Mr Southwell said.

Zeb Alaia of Raine and Horne Goulburn was looking forward to hosting on-site auctions again, noting that the theatrics of an auction was an exciting factor that was missed in virtual auctions.

“There’s drama in a traditional auction that you don’t get with a virtual auction … it’s having the bidders there bidding against each other, agents being able to talk with them and enticing them to bid,” Mr Alaia said.

“If someone loves a property, they will do leaps and bounds just to get it and that makes an auction a lot more exciting.”

Mr Alaia added that the partial lift on COVID-19 restrictions puts “more optimism and confidence back into the market for both buyers and sellers”.

“The restrictions had a domino effect on the industry. It didn’t just affect real estate agents, it affected the legal parties, conveyancers, builders and pest inspectors, removalists … the whole lot. There were new protocols in place which also took a lot of time to organise,” he said.

Mr Southwell, who has an auction scheduled for this Saturday in Casey, said if the ACT government eased restrictions on on-site auctions this week, he would consider switching the sale from an online auction to an on-site auction.

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“If we can, we will definitely change it to on-site, simply to provide more transparency for our buyers … [some aspects of an auction are] a lot easier face-to-face,” Mr Southwell said.

Speaking on whether house prices in Goulburn and surrounding regions such as Queanbeyan, Yass Valley and the Snowy Monaro will see a rise in the coming months, Mr Alaia believes it will remain unchanged or increase only slightly.

According to the latest Domain House Price Report, the Queanbeyan-Palerang region recorded a 9.6 per cent year-on-year growth to a median house price of $657,500. 

In the Goulbourn Mulwaree region, median house prices climbed 7 per cent year-on-year to $444,000. Likewise in Yass Valley, prices increased slightly by 3.4 per cent to $610,000.

However, the Snowy Monaro region had a 5.9 per cent dip year-on-year to $360,000.

“I expect median house prices to remain stagnant over the next quarter or until COVID-19 is completely gone,” Mr Alaia said.

“Buyers are still there but hesitation is still there too … we don’t know what restrictions will be lifted in the coming months or if the restrictions will come back again.”

Mr Southwell said: “This olive branch from the government is very welcome.” But he called on NSW agents to not take the easing of restrictions lightly.

“It is imperative that agents adhere to social distancing and the requirements of the government so that this opportunity doesn’t get taken away.”