Real estate agents call for inspections

Melbourne’s disparate real estate agents have united for the first time in a bid to get Victoria’s real estate market moving.

Veteran Melbourne buyer’s advocate David Morrell of Morrell and Koren said it was not only agents being affected.

Melbourne’s disparate real estate agents have united for the first time in a bid to get Victoria’s real estate market moving, after bans on one-on-one inspections of private houses and apartments were instituted for another six weeks.

High-profile Melbourne agent John Castran led scores of agents calling for a review of the moratorium on one-on-one inspections of properties until October 26 yesterday.

“This market has been jammed from transactions for the past eight weeks,” Mr Castran told The Australian.

“And it needs order,” he said, adding that the real estate market contributes around 40 per cent of the Victorian government’s funding through taxes, charges and stamp duties.

“There’s a whole groundswell of people who want to take control of their financial position but the chief medical officer will not allow sales and leasing of property in an orderly manner.”

The Victorian government would not review its moratorium on one-on-one inspections until late October and would only consider lifting it if the number of COVID-19 cases had reduced to low double-digit numbers, he said.

Mr Castran said it was ludicrous that he could go to a supermarket, a coffee shop or the bottle shop but he could not conduct an orderly property inspection which he deemed low risk.

“The consequence of that is people need to be given a way to face up to their financial position,” he said.

National residential architect Rob Mills says his practice in Queensland and NSW is firing along, but worries that momentum in Victoria will dissipate following the latest lockdowns.

Mr Mills said it would be difficult for his Victorian clients to purchase land for a residence sight unseen. “Purchasing it without seeing it will be difficult, therefore the energy we witnessed in the last few weeks in Victoria will go on hold until the lockdown is lifted,” he said.

Ray White Group managing director Dan White, who runs Victoria’s largest real estate network, said the ban on private inspections of properties was “devastating” for the industry.

“Many of our customers often need to move properties for fundamental reasons — be it illness, divorce or other hardships like unemployment. It’s been distressing to listen to the feedback from customers now facing significant financial consequences as a result of these restrictions,” Mr White said.

“It makes absolutely no sense to forbid private inspections when you compare the safe environment we can create compared to the activities that are being allowed.

“Based on the people we have spoken to today, there would be thousands of Victorians in distress …”

Powerful industry lobby groups also called for a far speedier exit from the strict lockdowns, with the Real Estate Institute of Victoria yesterday demanding the federal government undertake an independent review of the roadmap announced by the state government.

The REIV labelled the Victorian government’s response to the pandemic as “disproportionate, alarmist and short-sighted” and warned the path proposed jeopardised the livelihoods and assets of Victorians.

“Pushing the Victorian economy to the brink of collapse cannot be the only method of preventing the spread of coronavirus,” the REIV said.

It echoed criticisms of industry players about the lack of genuine consultation with business, that meant no genuine feedback was gathered or implemented.

“The lack of understanding by the Victorian government regarding the operations of the real estate sector is evidenced in almost every facet of the way which it has handled the restrictions and the moratorium,” the REIV said.

The group also pointed to the unintended consequences of policies protecting the most vulnerable tenants, claiming the Andrews’ government had also allowed many who were not suffering COVID-related financial stress to profit from the rental moratorium.

Veteran Melbourne buyer’s advocate David Morrell of Morrell and Koren said it was not only agents being affected.

“It’s the whole gamut — agents, vendors, buyers, valuers, developers, advertisers — they are all scrambling to figure out what they can do,” he said.

“Closing the market for another six weeks has put the nails in the coffin and one wonders whether auctions will ever fire up again. Auctions only work when there are crowds and a buzz and that’s not likely this side of Christmas.”