Agents rush to switch Sydney auctions from online to on-site ahead of restrictions being eased

PHOTO: On-site auctions, albeit with strict social distancing guidelines in place, are back on the table for NSW from this weekend. Photo: Peter Rae

Homes set to go under the hammer in Sydney this Saturday are hurriedly being converted from online to on-site auctions after the partial lifting of some of the restrictions on the sale of real estate.

Some agents and sellers are scrambling to switch remote auctions earmarked for May 9 to on-site the same day, while others are cancelling the online auctions and postponing the date of the on-site replacement for two to three weeks, to enable new sales campaigns. Others are investigating doing a combination of both.

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“This is great news,” said Oxford Agency’s Matt Marano, who was due to auction a three-bedroom, semi-detached terrace in Surry Hills online on Saturday, May 9. “We’ll now be conducting the auction on the same day, at the same time, but actually onsite at the house instead.

“It’s much better as buyers can see what they’ll be buying, and can obviously have much more of an emotional attachment to a property.”

DSC_2747_jhekq4 — Auctions have been held virtually in NSW since March 25. Photo: Peter Rae

The NSW government announced at the weekend that, with the easing of the COVID-19 crisis, the ban on on-site auctions and open homes would be lifted from this Saturday. Strict social distancing rules and regulations around hand sanitising stations will remain in place, and most will only allow registered bidders into auctions.

With the number of listings falling, clearance rates slumping to their lowest level in 15 years and prices dropping since the changes first came in on March 25, real estate agents throughout Sydney have welcomed the news as the first signs of the start of a return to normality.