Tim Heavyside

Spring has finally sprung for Melbourne’s real estate market!

With COVID-19 restrictions beginning to ease across metro-Melbourne, private inspections are back and vendors can put the sale of their property back into motion.

Throughout the entire lockdown, even Stage 4, we have seen a lot of buyer enquiry. On the flipside, there is very little stock available to accommodate this demand, so it is an excellent time for potential vendors to sell.

Have a listen to my market update.

I was recently quoted in Domain in The Age, talking about the Spring selling season in our current COVID-19 affected climate.

http://domain.smedia.com.au/theage-domain/

With metro Melbourne still in Stage 4 lockdown, many potential buyers and sellers are choosing to wait and see what happens this Spring, traditionally the busiest selling season.

One of my vendors, Kerrie Love, is bucking the trend and has opted to bring forward her decision to move.

Ms Love, recently retired from her catering job, had supplemented her income over the past few years by renting out rooms in the historic Box Hill house she had raised her four children in on Airbnb.

It had been an extremely successful income stream, and one which she had planned on continuing following her retirement, with bookings up until October 2021 – until the pandemic hit.

“I’ve had so many cancel. All the borders are closed and there’s so much uncertainty,” she said.

“Not being able to rely on that income has brought my decision forward. I’ve had time [during lockdown] to do up the garden, the renovations are all done, so I think it’s time to do it. I’m hoping the fact it’s a beautiful family home will mean it sells now.”

She expects the October 17 auction to be very different to when she bought the home in 1996, with 200 people at an auction in the backyard.

We’re seeing property listing numbers in Melbourne starting to improve, as vendors return to the market to try and sell before the end of the year.

“There are only four big weekends left before Christmas, and there’s been a huge increase in listings for February and March next year”.

https://www.domain.com.au/news/rising-listing-numbers-hint-at-bumper-year-for-property-sales-in-2020-911140/

“Box Hill South has, for a long time, had a higher median than North. We used to get a lot of overflow from Surrey Hills which for a while had a median price over the $2 million mark, so people priced out of the area would go looking in Box Hill South. While the market was going crazy, Box Hill South had an average of $1.5 million.”

Click here to read the full article featured on Domain.

I was interviewed by host Chris Kohler on the very first episode of Domain‘s new property show, ‘Your Domain’.

The show will air on Saturday mornings on Channel 9 from 10am, and is co-hosted by The Block favourite, Shelley Craft.

Check it out: https://www.9now.com.au/your-domain/season-1/episode-1

Fletchers Executive Chairman, Rob Fletcher, takes us on a trip down memory lane as he reflects upon both the history, legacy and future of the company as we celebrate the milestone of 100 years in business.

From humble beginnings at their first offices in Kew in 1919, to a network of over 20 offices more than a century later, the foundations established by the Fletcher family in the early days enabled the business to remain relevant over the years, despite the rapidly increasing pace of change.