Search Results for: Covid

  • NEWS

    Sydney vacancy rates down for first time since COVID-19 hit

    It might be too early to say for sure, but the REINSW Vacancy Rate Survey results for August 2020 suggest that the worst may be over. Vacancies across Sydney overall decreased for the first time in August, after five consecutive months of increases, and now sit at 3.7 per cent – a drop of 1.3 per cent from July. Similarly,…

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  • NEWS

    Banks plan to hike interest rates for COVID-impacted customers

    Three of the country’s largest banks have conceded that they will increase interest rates for those financially distressed customers planning to make interest-only repayments after the mortgage holiday period ends. NAB, Commonwealth and Westpac have admitted that rates will be higher for those customers only paying interest on their home loans, as opposed to those who pay principal plus interest.…

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  • Elite Agent

    REIWA’s post-COVID prosperity plan

    “It’s clear that the property industry needs stimulus to attract buyers and investors back into the market.” That’s the message from  Real Estate Institute of Western Australia, who have delivered a prosperity plan to the WA Government that they believe will set the state on the road to recovery. Below is an outline of the plan. Reform stamp duty to…

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  • NEWS

    Rental dispute system cracking under COVID-19 stress

    The Real Estate Institute of Victoria is concerned the process for dealing with residential tenancy disputes is cracking under the weight of COVID-19. With less than one month to go in the original six-month moratorium announced by the Andrews’ government, there is a backlog of 4000 rental cases at the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) and nearly a thousand…

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  • NEWS

    BREAKING: This weekend’s Gold Coast auctions to be restricted due to COVID-19

    Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has placed tighter restrictions on gatherings in Gold Coast homes from 8am, on Saturday, 29 August.  “Coming into effect from 8:00am Saturday, we are going to extend those limits of people inside your homes to 10 people, and those gatherings outside to 10,” Ms Palaszczuk said. “I think everyone would agree, we acted very swiftly when…

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  • Elite Agent

    Shorter meetings but longer days – how COVID-19 has changed the way we work

    One of the many things COVID-19 has had a dramatic impact on is the way many of us work. Those fortunate enough to be able to work from home have been able to adapt to this new reality – and it certainly has been “new”. Perhaps the biggest question for both employers and employees is whether working from home has…

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  • INDUSTRY NEWS

    Unused buildings will make good housing in the world of COVID-19

    We are entering an era of profound change in how we work, learn, socialise and live with COVID-19. Many people will adjust to this new world order and work remotely at home if they don’t have to attend an office or other workplace. This, in turn, will create an opportunity to adapt unused buildings, which were needed for the previous…

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  • Elite Agent
    residential real estate australia

    REIQ survey finds only 6% of renters qualified as “COVID-19 impacted”

    A recent survey conducted by REIQ shows how Queensland propety managers have gone above and beyond when it comes to rent negotiations, often acting outside the Residential Tenancies and Rooming Accommodation (COVID-19 Emergency Response) Regulation 2020. A survey of over 1200 REIQ property management agencies revealed that only 6.05 per cent of rental tenants in the residential sphere qualified as…

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  • Elite Agent

    Shopping mall windfall kicks against COVID trends

    Two Sydney shopping centres have been bundled up and sold for $91.5 million, a price in step with valuations made in a pre-COVID market. This is despite shopping mall vacancies hitting a 20-year high in May. The Pemulwuy Marketplace and West Ryde Marketplace were taken to market by the Charter Hall Retail Partnership No.1 Trust. “Both centres represented an opportunity…

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  • NEWS

    Why COVID-19 might not change our cities as much as we expect

    The coronavirus pandemic has thrust us into a moment of rapid change. Like all change, it is difficult to predict. But lessons from history provide us with two important insights. First, temporary change sometimes has remarkably little lasting effect. Second, what looks like a lasting effect is often the acceleration of existing trends, rather than new, crisis-caused trends. COVID-19 impacts…

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  • Elite Agent

    New homes under construction dipped well before COVID-19

    New research from HIA shows that the low numbers of new houses under construction was a major issue well before the fiscal and physical pressures associated with COVID-19. At the end of March, as the first restrictions started to come into play, there were around 188,000 new homes under construction. This was the lowest number since 2015. While the figures…

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  • Elite Agent
    REIV Leah Calnan lockdown

    REIV: Melbourne is prepared for new COVID restrictions

    As Melbourne returns to stage three lockdown, local real estate agencies are feeling a sense of deja vu – which, luckily, makes them well prepared to deal with the recent shift in fortunes. “Real estate in Melbourne and Mitchell Shire will continue to service the community with online inspections returning along with online auctions,” REIV President Leah Calnan said. Inspections…

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  • NEWS

    COVID-19 impacts Queenstown, while NZ market activity returns to normal

    Today's QV House Price Index (HPI) figures from CoreLogic have shown that COVID-19 has impacted property values to a mild degree, although nowhere near rates shown in Australia.Nationwide property values dropped 0.2%, with four of the six maincentres showing declines. Interestingly, Tauranga and Christchurch increased at the same rate as the national drop, rising 0.2%.…

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  • NEWS

    Rental markets near universities are suffering due to COVID-19

    Australian universities are financially reliant on full-fee paying international students. COVID-19 has crippled many industries, but the university sector has been amongst the hardest hit, with Universities Australia predicting losses of $16 billion across our tertiary institutions over the next three years – a dire scenario. The knock-on effects for the rental markets near these campus has already been seen,…

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  • NEWS

    The upside of COVID: More renters are now saving to buy property

    Saving for a home deposit can be a tricky prospect, involving self-discipline, long-term goal setting, and sacrificing those little luxuries like eating out, going to live gigs, or indulging in weekend getaways. New research by Westpac into the financial trends of Australian renters during COVID-19 shows that government-enforced lockdowns, coupled with the closure of many businesses that rely on discretionary…

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  • NEWS
    REIV Leah Calnan lockdown

    Real estate goes online in Covid-19 hotspots

    The Victorian Government on Tuesday announced that in light of rising cases of Coronavirus, ten postcodes with the highest amount of incidents would return to Stage 3 restrictions. REIV President Leah Calnan said real estate business will adapt their processes by reverting to inspections by appointment and online auctions in Melbourne’s ten COVID-19 hotspots. “Any return of restrictions is frustrating…

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  • Elite Agent

    How COVID-19 changed business practices

    The pandemic literally changed the world. It certainly changed the way we conduct business of all kind. The real estate industry has learnt a lot of lessons from March through to the end of June, and continues to learn. These lessons learned from how we have been forced to adapt have a great many positives. My observation of the main…

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  • Elite Agent

    Nine steps for keeping your office safe in COVID-19

    From implementing extra cleaning of frequently touched surfaces to including your shared company cars in regular cleans, there are a lot of extra safety standards you need to consider as your team settles back in at the office. National anti-viral sanitisation company Cleancorp has been inundated with inquiries since the beginning of the pandemic, and company Director Lisa Macqueen said…

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  • Elite Agent

    Getting back on track post COVID-19

    Real estate agents should use the COVID-19 crisis to do an audit of their business and inject renewed energy into their game plan, a top sales director says. Speaking during a Transform 2020 Leadership Lesson, Thomas McGlynn, from The Agency, told agents the COVID-19 crisis had been a rollercoaster. “It’s been a really steep learning curve, and as a leader,…

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  • GUEST INTERVIEWS

    Coming out the other side of COVID-19 with Adrian Kelly

    COVID-19 infection rates have drastically dropped around the country but that doesn’t mean the real estate industry can breathe a sigh of relief. In fact, some of the challenges are just beginning, REIA president Adrian Kelly believes. In this episode of the Elevate podcast, Adrian expresses concern that sales volumes are down between 20 and 40 per cent, and could…

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  • Elite Agent

    11 ways to attract new listings during COVID-19

    Virtual coffees with clients and helping to promote struggling local businesses are just two of 11 ways agents can generate new leads and listings during the COVID-19 crisis, a leading US agent and coach says. Speaking during one of this year’s Transform lessons, Jim Remley says during the Covid-19 crisis agents need to think outside the square to list and…

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  • NEWS

    ‘Covid-safe’ Darwin attracts plenty of interstate investor interest

    Property values in Darwin have proven resilient over the last three months compared to other capital city markets, with Raine & Horne suggesting several factors have contributed to the result.    “It is very encouraging Darwin’s property values are up nearly 2.5% over the last quarter,” Darwin Raine & Horne General Manager, Glenn Grantham said. “But realistically, the only way…

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  • NEWS

    Clearance rate hits pre-Covid high as volumes continue to lift

    The combined capital city clearance rate has rebounded to its highest level since early March, surpassing the 70 per cent mark as volumes also show signs of improving. This week, 613 auctions were scheduled across the capitals, marking an increase on previous weeks and returning a promising clearance rate of 70.9 per cent. CoreLogic notes this was the highest preliminary…

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  • Elite Agent

    McGrath’s new focus on project marketing post Covid-19

    McGrath has announced it will bolster its project marketing division, McGrath Projects, after securing highly respected industry specialists, Colin Griffin and Murray Wood, who will join as Associate Directors. Announcing the appointments, McGrath CEO Geoff Lucas said he believed the time was right to focus on the re-emergence of the off-plan development sector post COVID-19 and saw excellent opportunities for…

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  • Elite Agent

    New home building to suffer in wake of COVID-19

    New home building is forecast to fall by almost 50 per cent, putting half a million jobs at risk over the next year. According to HIA, the industry engaged more than one million people to commence building almost 200,000 new homes in 2018/19. But Managing Director Graham Wolfe said next year they expect to start just 112,000 new homes leaving…

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  • GUEST INTERVIEWS

    Maintaining a leadership mindset in the midst of COVID-19 with Michael Sheargold and John Cunningham

    The real estate landscape in the era of COVID-19 changed rapidly as sales agents, property managers, buyers, sellers and tenants all had to find new ways of getting the job done. In March, Elite Agent ran a series of webinars to help agents navigate these changing times and in this episode of Elevate, Cunninghams Managing Director John Cunningham and performance coach and…

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  • NEWS

    Navigating the PropTech minefield in a current and post COVID-19 World

    If PropTech wasn’t on your radar before, the impact of COVID-19 has definitely steered our industry to look to technology for client engagement and to ensure the industry can continue to operate through this unprecedented time. But we often hear clients saying: “This company and that company do similar functions,” or “but this company integrates with that program but not…

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  • Elite Agent

    My staff don’t want to return to work – coming back after COVID-19

    As Australia commences its return to normality, the internet is already abuzz with questions about the return of employees to their workplaces. When will it happen? How will it happen? And, increasingly, can I refuse to return when my boss tells me it’s time? On Friday, Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced Australia’s ‘3 Step Framework for a COVIDSafe Australia’. As…

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  • NEWS

    How property markets are responding to COVID-19 according to Herron Todd White

    The COVID-19 crisis has thrown the national economy into turmoil, while property markets are still clearly trying to digest what it all means. Leading valuers Herron Todd White (HTW) have tabled their thoughts on what each state is facing and what might lie ahead for the nation’s residential property markets. NSWSydney has been at the forefront of the battle against…

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  • NEWS

    Auction withdrawals hit all-time high as vendors and agents adapt to COVID-19 regulations

    Auction withdrawal has spiked to about eight times the usual rate and the clearance rate for the combined capital cities has reached record lows since on-site auctions and property inspections were banned in response to the COVID-19 crisis. CoreLogic reports from the week ending 29 March to the week ending 3 May, the portion of scheduled auction events withdrawn averaged…

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  • NEWS

    Construction sector devastated by impact of COVID-19

    Up to 43,000 new homes will not be built in the next 12 months as a result of COVID-19, according to new economic modelling released today. Denita Wawn, CEO of Master Builders Australia said new modelling conducted by Master Builders Australia showed the devastating impact that lockdown was having on the building industry, the economy and the community. “In the…

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  • NEWS
    REIV Leah Calnan lockdown

    The Real Estate Institutes respond to COVID-19 impact on Australian property

    As the far-reaching impacts of COVID-19 continue to be felt, the heads of the nation’s Real Estate Institutes have had their say on how they expect it will impact the Australian property industry.  Responding to Ripehouse Advisory’s Whitepaper COVID-19 vs Australian Property, most industry heads are on the same page, remaining cautiously optimistic. Across the board, the consensus has been…

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  • NEWS

    Which rental markets are most impacted by COVID-19?

    COVID-19 is having varied impacts on residential property, but arguably the biggest impact could be in the rental space. According to CoreLogic, prior to COVID-19, the Australian rental market was already weak and with new challenges like Australian borders remaining closed to tourists and government policies restricting short-term rental arrangements, some Airbnb rentals are converting to long-term rental supply. CoreLogic…

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  • Elite Agent

    Housing policies need change as COVID-19 widens renter-owner divide

    The renter-owner gap will widen Despite concerns about house prices plummeting, the spread of COVID-19 is exposing a widening gap in housing markets between those who own zero housing wealth (renters) and those with substantial housing wealth (owners). Australians with little to no housing wealth were already experiencing at least three key types of vulnerabilities before the pandemic in the…

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  • Elite Agent

    What to post on social media during COVID-19

    As the current social climate and the property industry continues to change due to COVID-19, it proves to be a confusing phase for real estate agents. When it comes to digital marketing, there are several approaches one can take in response to the new lifestyle changes whilst continuing to be active online. What to avoidOffering personal opinions on the COVID-19…

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