Ray White Now | 20 July 2020 Vol. 10 | Page 4

BUYERS CONTINUE TO UNDERWRITE MARKET RESILIENCE SUMMARY • Melbourne market defies predictions to book a bumper week • Buyers activity strengthens There has been much change in the real estate industry since the onset of restrictions in late March. We have seen changes in the way the industry has operated to provide a safe place for our customers to engage, predominantly by the use of new technology. And despite strongly recovering in recent months, vendors proved reluctant to enter the market in April and May due to concerns over buyer depth. But there has been one constant the past four months and that is robust buyer activity. Loan pre-approvals numbers are important evidence of buyers getting ready to be able to transact. Buyers approach banks before or during their property search journey and obtain an in principle loan approval to enable them to bid and negotiate confidently to secure their chosen property. Loan Market’s pre-approval numbers have been astonishing since late March - last week again saw an increase of more than 10 per cent compared to last year! Record numbers of people taking advantage of extremely low interest rates. We continue to monitor buyer activity very closely through four primary sources: loan pre-approvals at Loan Market, online buyer enquiry on raywhite.com and industry portals, numbers through our open for inspections plus the number of registered bidders at auctions. The number of views of property listings continue to gain momentum across the portals - in fact Domain views are up 49 per cent year on year, while total listing enquiries remain strongly up week on week. Enquiries have also surpassed pre-lockdown levels. Meanwhile numbers at open homes remain steady week on week. James Keenan calling an auction at 39-21 Coulson Street, Erskineville NSW 4 The information is general information only, not financial advice, and does not take into account your individual objectives, financial situation or needs.