COVID-19: Canberra’s real estate restrictions explained

Canberra’s property market is being tested after the ACT Government’s announcement of a snap seven-day lockdown yesterday.

The shutdown of Canberra started at 5pm on Thursday 12 August and will follow bans on in-person auctions and property inspections.

Canberra's Covid cluster has risen to 5 active cases and almost 4000 close or casual contacts have been identified.

Under the new restrictions, Canberrans are required to remain in their local areas. All of NSW has been declared a COVID-19 affected area.

According to ACT Health, Non-ACT residents cannot enter the ACT without an exemption unless they live in Gunning, Collector, Murrumbateman, Yass, Binalong, Uriarra, the north-western edge of Wallaroo, Jerrabomberra, Queanbeyan, Googong, Karabar, Sutton, Gundaroo, Bungendore, Captains Flat, Bredbo, and Michelago.

People from these postcodes can only enter the Territory for essential work and healthcare reasons.

People who live in Goulburn and Braidwood cannot enter the ACT without an exemption.

The ACT Government has announced that there are only six essential reasons why you can leave your home during this snap lockdown:

1. To buy essential groceries and medicine
2. To access essential healthcare including in-home care
3. For essential work
4. To exercise outdoors for one hour per day in your region
5. To get a COVID-19 test
6. To get a COVID-19 vaccine.

Real estate services are not included in the list of essential services. That means that those who planned on attending a home inspection or live auction over the next few days must stay home and tune in online instead.

House Inspections:

In-person inspections are banned during the lockdown. You can only inspect a property online.

For those in Queanbeyan, private one-on-one inspections will continue as long as face masks are worn.

Auctions:

In-person auctions are banned during the lockdown. You can only attend an auction online.

For those in Queanbeyan, in-person auctions are banned and moved online.

Settlements:

Settlements will be still going ahead and pre settlement inspections will be virtual.

Routine rental property inspections:

Routine rental inspections will be conducted virtually.

Repairs and Maintenance on rental properties:

There may be delays due to some restrictions but as a whole, repairs and maintenance should operate as usual. Contact your agent for specific advice.

Agent Insights:

Upon hearing the news of Canberra’s snap lockdown, CEO Nick Paine of Luton Properties said Luton was well prepared to deal with the uncertainty.

"It was hectic yesterday but we had the tech side of things all ready from when we were in lockdown last year," said Mr Paine.

"One of the things we did limit was calling people until we had very clear communications to give and to the staff's credit, everyone was very calm."

Mr Paine said three auctions were brought forward and sold yesterday and eight online auctions scheduled for tomorrow.

"We did have 14 auctions booked overall but most of them have now gone to an online platform."

On the other side of the border, Director/Owner of Ray White Queanbeyan | Jerrabomberra Brad O'Mara said that while Queanbeyan is not in lockdown yet, Ray White has procedures and systems in place for a lockdown.

"Until a lockdown happens, the office is open and running," he said.

"We are doing virtual inspections and I have two auctions next week which I am pushing to get online."

Mr O'Mara said that while there is a lot of uncertainty in Queanbeyan at the moment, open homes are still scheduled for now.

Chief Minister Andrew Barr described Canberra's latest Covid cluster as the most serious public health emergency the ACT had seen so far.

Mr Barr also said in a statement that lessons have been learned from Sydney and Melbourne lockdown experiences.

“We have seen that a short and immediate lockdown limits the potential spread of the virus, and is the best path to avoiding longer and more damaging lockdowns,” Mr Barr said. “This will be the first time that ACT has entered a lockdown of this nature since the early days of the pandemic.

Speak to your local agent to get the latest information as the COVID-19 situation continues to evolve.