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How should Melbourne agents handle stage 4 restrictions?

By Cameron Micallef
11 August 2020 | 7 minute read
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Agents are being advised to follow New Zealand’s template, as the country was able to experience a real estate boom post-stage 4 lockdowns.

During a recent episode of What’s Making Headlines, co-hosts Phil Tarrant and Tom Panos explained how real estate agents can set themselves up post-restrictions.

“I think, Phil, we are in different territory. In stage 3, a real estate agent in Victoria was able to show a home. A real estate agent in Victoria was able to have a pre-settlement inspection. A real estate agent in Victoria was able to go in and do a listing presentation. That now is not possible,” Mr Panos said.

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However, Mr Panos pointed out there is light at the end of the tunnel for property experts who do the hard work during this period.

“I think that if you are a real estate agent in Melbourne, you’ve got to accept the fact that youre not going to make many sales,” Mr Panos said. “And if we use New Zealand as a template, what we do know is that, intelligently, you can set yourself up for around September 15, September 20 when you come out of it, launching a lot of property on the market. And Phil, the good news is that New Zealands booming. The demand of buyers and the appetite is at an all-time high.”

“Prices are up in most parts of New Zealand. Ray White Remuera completed $92 million worth of sales in the month of July. Were talking about $2 million worth of commissions. So, there is a prize at the end of this, if you can keep your chin up, and you dont fall into the pajama slope during those six weeks.”

Mr Panos believes agents should use the time to immerse themselves in the community as it is a golden opportunity to stand up and be of service.

“An example would be, go off and send a note to the people that are the vulnerable and the elderly, and let them know that youre happy, when youre going off to do your shopping, if they need any necessities, that youll pick them up, and on the way home, for particularly an older vulnerable person, that youll leave them at their doorstep,” Mr Panos said.

The second piece of advice Mr Panos has for agents is to work through their database to see where potential clients are placed.

“I think one of the best things you can do is start at A, go to Z, and say, ‘Hey, its Tom Panos here from XY real estate. Its business as usual in an unusual way. Can I ask you, what will you be doing post-COVID? Buying, selling, or sitting on the fence?’ And work out, segment your database, qualify your database, so you can come out of it, and actually say, theyre a buyer, theyre a seller, theyre still very passive, right? Id be doing that,” he continued.

Thirdly, Mr Panos pointed out this is a time to address jobs that have been put off due to the daily business grind.

“Youve got a golden opportunity, Phil, to go off and complete some of those projects, right, that have been long overdue. It might be that you wanted to create an e-book, which is how to sell your home for the most amount of money. It might be that you always had a plan that you wanted to do, a weekly real estate video show, and you never got it off the ground,” Mr Panos said.

“It might be that youve always wanted to actually take your listing presentation from a seven out of 10, and make it a 10 out of 10. So, youve got all these things that youve got time now to do.”

Finally, the real estate guru noted this is an opportunity for real estate agents to improve their game or improve themselves during lockdown.

“And then the last thing that I would suggest you do is, spend an hour a day on self-improvement. I mean, through things like Udemy, theres so many places now that you can actually enrol in online learning. That you can go off, and if you were to learn one thing a day in that six weeks, youd come out of there, a black belt in 42 different subjects, right? That would be a great way,” Mr Panos concluded.

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