Aussie passion for property remains

“Our record audience numbers in March demonstrate that Australians remain passionate about property. Pleasingly, searches for properties for sale and rent on realestate.com.au also remain up year-on-year,” REA Group chief sales officer Kul Singh said.

“We are really pleased that our new Digital Inspections and Online Auctions features have had an immediate impact, helping connect agents with more buyers, sellers and renters. This comes at a time when face-to-face interactions are limited as we all rally together and stay at home wherever possible to help stop the spread of COVID-19.”

Mr Singh noted that the REA has been doing everything it can “to support the property market through these unprecedented times and to deliver ongoing value to customers”.

Following the launch of Digital Inspections, over 44,000 realestate.com.au buy and rent listings now feature digital video tours. Compared to early March, views of digital video tours are up by 96 per cent and views of 3D tours are up by 327 per cent, a statement confirmed.

Commenting further on the recently introduced digital features, Barry Plant director and senior auctioneer James Hatzimoisis said: “The tools now available to agents are incredible. Any business that’s worth its weight has been using digital tools for some time, but some of the new features make engagement a lot easier.

“We’re finding that the enquiries we’re currently getting are much more qualified. People may still want to privately inspect a property before they buy it, but features like Digital Inspections make it so much easier for them to make a decision.”

Jellis Craig Armadale head of property management Sam Nokes added that in the last fortnight, he has seen an increase in leases signed without tenants physically inspecting the property, and expects this trend to continue.

“We have offered virtual inspections for about three years and landlords have only very recently become more willing to lease to tenants who haven’t completed a physical inspection. At the moment, people want to visit as few properties as possible and Digital Inspections allow tenants to pre-screen a property,” Mr Nokes said.

“We’re also finding that most prospective tenants who view a Digital Inspection, and go on to a physical inspection, will then submit an application to lease the property.”