The Sydney property market often adjusts itself to deal with serious hurdles, but it never stops.

Amid current concerns surrounding Coronavirus (COVID-19) our buyers and sellers have been going ahead, with precautions in place, successfully transacting through uncertain times.

The biggest question we’ve had for March is “can we buy/sell now?” The short answer is yes. 

With 30 new properties signed in the past week, we’re seeing strong open home attendance, still around double the attendance we were seeing in March 2019. With 10 sales in just the past 3 days, it’s business as usual with precautions in place… no handshakes, stay away if you’re unwell, and we’re doing our part to sanitise. Our homes are open.

And with the RBA just making an emergency announcement, the official cash rate has been slashed to a another new record low of 0.25% .

Meanwhile at BresicWhitney, remember many deals don’t happen without private inspections. They make up an important part of campaigns, often being where our pre-qualified buyers prefer to act. So reach out to any of our agents to arrange one for yourself.

Off-market sales are another sign of strong existing relationships. Last month before Coronavirus, off-market selling was accounting for 15% of total BW sales.

Amid this new climate, more than 25% of BW sales happened off-market to pre-qualified buyers last week.

Our outside-the-box marketing tools aren’t anything new. Maclay Longhust sold our first property via FaceTime back in 2018, with an interstate buyer securing a Griffiths Tea warehouse in Surry Hills for $3.4 million. They never inspected in person.

Since then, video inspections have become more prevalent, coming via agents, family members and more. This week the BW sales team was reminding buyers about those options.

Earlier this week Brad Papaellinas sold 206/11-23 Gordon Street, Marrickville for $975,000. Of the 12 buyers who inspected on Saturday, just 2 came from via online portals. The other 10 were invited via the BW network.

Achieving top prices wasn’t an issue with recent comparable sales in the building between $870,000 and $900,000.

Yesterday, Nicholas McEvoy sold 5 George Street, Gladesville for $2.25 million to a BW network buyer. That home sold for $1.8 million in 2018.

Today Michael Kirk sold 26/322 Bourke Street, Surry Hills prior to auction above $1 million after 3 weeks on the market. The buyer was an owner-occupier with their heart set on that apartment.

This weekend, all of our auctions are being streamed online, with the opportunity to watch or bid remotely. If you see something you like and are more comfortable in the digital space, we’re with you. Reach out to the listing agent and they’ll send you the streaming links.

It’s an important time right now. And we’re always adapting.