Coronavirus and property values

I know someone close to Canberra. The talk is an additional 1.4 million to hit up benefits. That takes unemployment to 2.1 mill or 13 (ish) percent.

 

Access to benefits in Australia are pretty stringent with limitations around assets, spousal income, etc although some of those restrictions have been reduced. But 1.4m going onto benefits probably leads to a bigger unemployment rate than that. And I reckon in the short term that's very optimistic. I'd back more like 25% for the length of any shutdown. Question is what the world looks like on the other side.

 

The world on the other side is a different world. We are forced to adapt to this and some of the adaptations will stick. We won't be going back to what we had before this started. The changes will be good and bad. There will be winners and losers.

 

Nostradamus ...Hope scomo had seen this post in Jan

 

It seems that it's starting to have an effect in Hobart. I've been keeping a close eye on the market since the start of the year, have offered on a number of properties but am currently feeling kinda lucky that we have missed out.

https://www.realestate.com.au/property-house-tas-west+hobart-133110298 This place was listed for offers >950k a month or more ago, and has just been marked down to >895k. Contrast it with this place: https://www.realestate.com.au/sold/property-house-tas-west+hobart-132832386 which was originally listed for >925 in late January and sold for 1.088mil after the first open. Granted, it's had a lovely renovation done and is much more liveable, but the block is also 200m2 smaller than 67. 67 also has potential access via a lane down the side which presumably would make developing the back of the block much simpler.

This is one of the better streets in Hobart, only a few hundred metres from the main restaurant strip, 5 mins walk to the gourmet grocer, in a great school catchment and only 30 mins relatively flat walk to the middle of the city. Sadly it's probably still out of our price range, but I guess we'll keep an eye on it and see what happens!

I've noticed a reasonable number of other properties being discounted too, in various areas of the city. Unsurprisingly, there are a lot of new furnished rentals on the market too... Interesting times.

 

80% of their crop handling is done by Illegal immigrants. Wonder what those guys will do.

 

Fingers crossed they get it sorted with this next party.

 

There may even be more unintended consequences for "no evictions", firstly there are insurance companies that wont issue landlord insurance .
The next dilemma is will banks still issue loans for investors if they cannot get landlord insurance.
The risk to the bank has suddenly gone ballistic.