With daily changes, updates, new information, more confirmed cases and many businesses struggling to keep their heads above water it is safe to say the long term effects of COVID-19 are simply unknown. Speculation is high, and we are relying on experts to give some insights as to how they think it will pan out.
A question being asked a lot is if, when, and how the COVID-19 flood gates will spill open into the housing market? Well here are what a few of the experts are saying.
Justin Wolfers, an Australian-born professor of public policy and economics at the University of Michigan, said governments around the world needed to take dramatic actions to contain the virus and mitigate its economic effects. “There are reasons to think this could be as bad as the Great Depression if we don’t get the response right,”
According to Nigel Stapledon, a research fellow in real estate at the Centre for Applied Economic Research at the University of New South Wales, “The bottom line is it will be negative – prices will go down. People, up until now, have been talking about the property market developing a bit of momentum, with the interest rate cuts we had last year and the easing of credit conditions. But coronavirus has changed the story for 2020.”
Additional to the impact on the economy and how this has negatively impacted on property prices, the way we go about working in real estate is changing.
Queensland’s peak real estate body REIQ (The Real Estate Institute of Queensland) has recommended all agencies consider a range of COVID-19 preventative measures to run across offices, during home inspections and at auctions. REIQ CEO Antonia Mercorella commented that the “it’s important to be prepared because most, if not every, role across the Queensland real estate industry involves high contact with people”.
At Clark Real Estate, we are following all health advice and guidelines issued by the Australian Government and Queensland Health with regards to novel coronavirus (COVID-19).
As a result, our sales and property management teams are taking a precautionary and preventative approach. To see more on what we’re doing as part of our process, click here.
Despite all this trepidation, there are still active buyers and sellers in the market. However strategies and negotiation tactics must be able to support not just a rising market, but also a falling market as well as take into consideration where buyer confidence is at. Our team of experts have real experience in uncertain times, having had positive results for sellers throughout the GFC.
Ultimatley it is true that times are tough. But as people, our histroy willl show that we will recover. Things will eventually bounce back. Things will go back to normal eventually…
For further reading and a more in depth understanding of the current QLD market amidst COVID-19 we’drecommend beginning with the following links:
https://clarkre.wbclients.com/covid-19-novel-coronavirus-update/
