SAFE options remain for interested Riverland investors and home buyers to view available properties despite the current coronavirus emergency, according to a local real estate agent.
Federal Government laws introduced over the weekend to combat the spread of COVID-19 have restricted outdoor gatherings to two people.
Elders Real Estate Riverland sales manager David Kanizay said the new regulations prevented the holding of open houses and auctions.
“We’re required to follow the clear guidelines which have now been set and we continue to adapt to the changes as they are announced” Mr Kanizay said.
“Changes which affect the real estate industry are made on a national level, so what may seem like an overreaction in the Riverland is not an overreaction in Melbourne or Sydney.
“Even though open houses in the Riverland might attract two to 10 people, in larger centres they could attract 50 or more people, clearly they had to be stopped.
“We recently had an auction in our area which drew a crowd of over 30 people, so that clearly can’t happen now”
Mr Kanizay said private inspections were still encouraged, with real estate agents given “clear instructions” regarding the minimisation of risks to both visitors and home owners.
“If somebody wants to view a property, we can certainly arrange a private inspection within the current guidelines,” he said.
“That is keeping a minimum of 1.5 metres separation, adhering to the restrictions on the maximum size of public gatherings and providing hand sanitiser before buyers enter a property.
“We’ll have all the doors open and we respectfully ask clients not to touch anything… we can provide them with gloves if necessary.
“We’re very careful to not put the people coming through the property at risk, or the people who own the property and assuming we do all the right things, we can carry on and show people through or do appraisals.”
Mr Kanizay said interested buyers also had the potential to view a home remotely using technology.
“We’re trying to maintain business as usual as much as we can,” he said.
“If someone wants to organise a private inspection they can email or call us.
“If people are concerned about face-to-face contact, we can also use technology such as Facetime to show them an initial view, then they can have a physical look after that.”