- Despite the Delta variant, Sydney's property market continues to boom
- REINSW CEO said challenges with rules will be ongoing for agents
- Sydney's clearance rate is higher than Melbourne's thanks to inspections being allowed
Despite the Delta variant ravaging across New South Wales, the property market has continued to perform strongly.
Although there has been a reduction in the number of transactions, intense demand, constrained supply and the willingness of buyers to act has resulted in prices continuing their rise.
Tim McKibbin, REINSW CEO, has said these factors should make vendors optimistic when listing.
“Vendors have every reason to be confident and some may regret the decision not to list their properties now,” he said.
“While it’s tempting to ponder what would’ve happened if not for Delta, more important is gauging what could happen when Government winds back restrictions and opens the economy back up. It’s a question for buyers, sellers and agents to consider now.
Tim McKibbin, REINSW CEO
“The last time the market emerged from lockdown it recovered the momentum lost rapidly. The drivers suggest this could re-occur but strategies will need to be in place.”
Mr McKibbin referred to the initial roadmap for vaccinated individuals which was released by the New South Wales government last week and said achieving clarity with the current rules would be an ongoing challenge.
“But agents will push on as best they can, in a COVID-safe way,” he added.
Mr McKibbin said clearance rates are expected to remain strong, noting “interesting” figures from CoreLogic last week that showed the clearance rate disparity between Melbourne and Sydney, with private inspections only allowed in Sydney.
“There are other factors at play, but the headline difference in clearance rate is over 30 percent in Sydney’s favour,” he said.
“For consumers, it reinforces the importance for agents to be able to continue to do their job, in line with and in the spirit of the lockdown restrictions.
“When an agreed vaccination threshold is reached, and we find out what life looks like on the other side, it will be interesting to see if opportunistic buyers, including investors, make a noticeable return.”
