Developer Caydon has been using virtual technology to sell homes off the plan since 2015, but many buyers still want to visit a display suite before purchasing.
Victoria’s construction pipeline is “under extreme threat” after a ban on real estate and display suite inspections in Melbourne was extended by six weeks.
The road map out of stage four lockdown provides for physical inspections to resume from October 26, almost 12 weeks after inspections were barred on August 6.
In a letter to the state government, the state’s powerful construction and development lobby has warned having inspections banned for close to three months would “severely” damage the state’s $26b a year home building economy and leave it requiring long-term stimulus.
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“The length of time the restrictions are proposed to be in place will mean that the new home sales pipeline will have been decimated for the months of August, September, October and possibly November, before entering the two quietest months of the year being December and January,” the letter warned.
“The extended restrictions have the potential to leave the new home sales pipeline effectively non-existent for up to six months. This possibility combined with the devastating overall impact of COVID-19 on the housing sector, will mean that the new housing sector will be severely damaged and in need of longer-term government stimulus and repair.”
Pace Development Group launched a display suite at their Pace of Sunshine North development on June 6, but it closed two months later and may not reopen until October.
It adds that Victorians’ access to the $25,000 HomeBuilder grants for new home construction will be limited as a result, reducing the impact of the federal-funded stimulus package.
The letter is signed by Urban Development Institute of Australia Victorian chief executive Danni Hunter, Master Builders Victoria chief executive Rebecca Casson and Property Council of Australia Victoria’s Mike Zorbas.
They have proposed capping numbers of people allowed to inspect display suites or homes, requiring customers register upon entry with a date and time stamp, and where possible to use discrete entries and exits to control movement through premises.
Home builder Porter Davis provided an example of how display homes could be reopened for public inspection after Melbourne’s first lockdown.
On Sunday, Real Estate Institute of Victoria president Leah Calnan described the extension of the bans as “disastrous”.
Caydon international marketing director Steve Williams said while limited property sales had continued for off-the-plan homes, the continued ban on inspections was a “heavy blow”.
“The implementation of social distancing and hygiene measures were swiftly implemented by the real estate industry in lockdown 1.0,” Mr Williams said.
“It is therefore disappointing that government hasn’t recognised that fact that we are a very low-risk industry when it comes to the spread of coronavirus. Extending the closure for an additional six weeks is, in our view, excessive.”
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