Melbourne real estate agents are bracing for the prospect of the biggest disruption to the city’s housing market since Covid as fuel supply issues continue.
Victorian house assessments could be pushed back and cruise ships started as estate agents prepare for a post-Easter fuel price in the government housing market.
The sector is facing the biggest disruption since the Covid-19 lockdown, with regional areas expected to face the biggest impact.
It comes as Melbourne records the weakest number of lettings since a monster auction week with more than 1900 homes set to go under the hammer – the second busiest week in March since 2019, and the biggest so far this year.
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PropTrack figures show 59 per cent of properties sold, based on 994 results in the first figures yesterday.
Senior economist Anne Flaherty said Melbourne’s approval rate had been falling from 68 per cent set in February, and that Melbourne’s approval rate was in the 50s this week “shows it’s a very challenging time to sell a home – although it’s a good time to be a buyer”.
“This week has been a good indicator of where the market is,” Ms Flaherty said.
Real Estate Institute of Victoria chief executive Toby Balazs said any results in the 50s showed the market was a “big challenge” in Melbourne.
![303 Lennox St, Richmond - for herald sun real estate](data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 1280 720"%3E%3C/svg%3E)
303 Lennox St, Richmond, offered a $4.2m sale under auction conditions.
A mix of major Melbourne estate agents reported mixed results with Jellis Craig recording 126 sales out of 179 auctions, according to chief executive Andrew McCann, while Ray White’s data showed the state’s largest agency group had a 61.4 per cent approval rate after more than 300 arrangements.
Fletchers chief executive Jeremy Tyrrell said the company was up 59 per cent on the day after “a few surprises”, and that he believed many results across Melbourne would have been negotiated for sale after the pass – which is still being recorded as a sell-off.
Greg Brydon of Apollo Auctions said that while he was surprised to record four auction sales, the section negotiated just one buyer.
Next week Victoria’s auction numbers drop to 166 over the Easter long weekend.
The manager of Real Estate Industry Partners, and the director of Harcourts Move, Sadhana Smiles said that the agencies will use this time to prepare strategies to deal with the fuel shortage.
Ms. Smiles said there is already less activity at open houses during the week, and agents are likely to focus more on weekend inspections.
The CEO of Real Estate Industry Partners, Mr. Sadhana Smiles, says that the agencies are planning to make major changes as they face the fuel crisis.
“I think going to formal open houses might be one of the first steps,” Ms. Smiles said.
“If you can bring a lot of people together in a few moments, you can have a lot of people brought together.”
He added that markets with high demand for vacation home buyers could see significant declines in the number of inspections.
“Regional markets tend to feel the impact before Melbourne markets, and I think that will happen again this time,” Ms Smiles said.
“And I think there’s going to be a lot of people asking for visual inspection.”
64 Elm Grove, Kew East, was also on the strong sales list, with a change of ownership of $2.98m recorded at auction.
The latter is something he expects will come to Melbourne, including rentals, as buyers and tenants look to prioritize homes they are most confident will suit their needs and budgets.
Both Mr Tyrrell at Fletchers and McCann at Jellis Craig said their firms intend to increase fuel allowances to help keep agents on the road, with Mr Tyrrell adding that they may also be looking at holding more in-house auctions to reduce travel.
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