Hi, my name is Greg Vincent and welcome to this week’s Acreage Market Wrap where I share an insight into How’s The Acreage Market?

This week I launched a brand system which I believe will become The NEW WAY to buy & sell acres, it will be especially effective during this Coronavirus period and I’ll share more about this new innovation shortly...

But first, there were a lot of changes announced during this past week which caused a few concerns for property investors, many of whom were looking to move their money across to property on the back of the low interest rates and the falling stock market.

There was some confusion for Landlords around the Rent Relief package released by the Federal Government this week and whilst some tenants thought that because they couldn’t be evicted for 6 months that they no longer had to pay their rent, but that’s certainly not the case.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said that Tenants have to pay their rent unless they can demonstrate a reason not to. The lease is a contract and the obligations within that contract need to be fulfilled.

The plight of the landlord was completely overlooked in the early stages of the Government's announcement but via some good work done by the REINSW and other industry stakeholders, the difficulties for landlords has been highlighted and more should be announced to resolve this issue early next week.

In the meantime, if you're a Landlord then your Tenants should be referred to the relevant Government websites to see what initiatives and assistance the Government is providing to help them through this pandemic.

Landlords need to be careful not to panic too quickly.

In an article in today’s Australian Financial Review titled 'The Landlords Guide To Surviving The Pandemic' by Nila Sweeney, the Property Investment Council of Australia Chairman. Ben Kingsley said

Landlords should hold off reducing or foregoing any rent until the government releases more details on rental relief. We’re telling any Landlord who decides to reduce rent is potentially impacting their claim if rent is unpaid in the first instance. And also potentially putting at risk how much they will receive if there is a tenancy relief package announced by the Federal Government in the coming days or weeks or months.

In the article, they suggest that while Landlords wait for further guidance from the Government it is a good idea to do a budget to see how much it will cost you to hold the property with reduced or no rent over 6 months.

And also Cathy Bakos, the President of the Real Estate Buyers Agents Association says…

Investors need to realise the moratorium does not allow tenants to walk away from their obligations.

This is something that so far hasn’t been explained properly by Prime Minister, Scott Morrison and I expect that there will be more clarification on this from the Government in the coming days.

As you can see, it’s really important that you get the facts right before you start making any impulsive decisions.

Also, in other news, apparently there’s been a change to the Material Facts regulations regarding agent disclosure and an agent must now declare if an occupant of a property has tested positive for COVID-19. This is very new legislation and we’ll hear more about how this works in the coming weeks.

Additionally, with a lot of properties having been sold recently and many that are still due to settle some may experience unexpected complications. If it’s an owner occupier leaving then that’s okay, however, if it’s a tenant vacating then with these new laws regarding tenant protection against evictions there may be some potential issues which could now arise which could leave owners without a sale and leave owners liable to be sued if they can’t give vacant possession. However, apparently new laws are being drafted to fix this situation very quickly.

The speed at which everything is moving there are so many unintended consequences when the government makes broad brush decisions and the REINSW and the Law Society have been actively involved in liaising with the State Government to find suitable solutions.

So as you can see, there’s a lot going on behind-the-scenes that we are all having to adapt to very quickly.

Speaking of adapting to change, This pandemic is a life-changing time for so many where we really need to be Strategic, Pragmatic & Innovative.

We need to ‘Re-Imagine & Re-Emerge'.

...Here at McGrath we have Re-Imagined and anticipated what some of the changes will be within our real estate business ahead of if or when we do go into a COVID-19 Stage #4 LockDown. We have pivoted and implemented extremely quickly and are now embracing Online Auctions, Private Inspections By Appointment and Digital Inspections.

Here’s an article which goes into more detail about what we're doing here at McGrath to Re-Imagine and Re-Emerge.

Plus, on top of all that, I'm excited to announce that this week I officially launched a brand new innovative strategy called ‘Off-Market Acres’ where Secret Places Are Revealed as well launching a brand new 'Off-Market Acres' Facebook Page and with registrations climbing daily, both the website and the Facebook page have already been well received.

'Off-Market Acres' is a brand new system that may end up becoming The NEW WAY To Buy Or Sell Acres. (especially for anyone looking to sell their acreage property during the COVID-19 LockDown period). If you want to find out more about’Off-Market Acres’ and how it all works, visit... www.offmarketacres.com.au

Okay, So How’s The Acreage Market?

The increased number of new acreage listings coming onto the market versus the reduction in the number of acreage sales occurring is continuing to fuel the current oversupply of acreage properties that are now on the market.

Currently there a total of 426 acreage properties For Sale across the entire region. This overall total includes 231 acreage properties For Sale throughout all of The Hawkesbury, 133 in The Hills and another 62 acreages For Sale within Sydney’s North-West acreage areas of Penrith and Blacktown.
This week, there’s been an additional 21 new acreage listings come onto the market but again there were only 3 acreage properties Sold this week plus there’s been a slight decrease to the number of acreages that are ‘Under Contract’, but, even so it's good to see that there are still 14 acreage properties currently ‘Under Contract’ across the region.
In March, there were a total of 86 new acreage listings come onto the market and 25 acreage properties were sold. The Hawkesbury had 12 sold, The Hills had 8 sold and 5 sales occurred in the Penrith & Blacktown Acreage suburbs we cover.

Out in the field, this week, we officially launched a spectacular couple of ‘Off-Market Acres’ at 26 Wavehill Avenue, Windsor Downs and 14 Lamrock Avenue, Glossodia. These are both incredible properties and here’s some information about these stunning homes below….

Also, I have another acreage property which should become available via 'Off-Market Acres’ later this week. If you’re looking for an excellent land bank acres investment or an acreage property with a comfortable home, a large workshop and good paddocks to suit horses for under $1.5m then keep an eye out for the email notifications that will be sent out about this one. You can register to receive the email updates at... www.offmarketacres.com.au

Once you register to be notified about any of the 'Off-Market' properties you’ll also receive instant access to The Acreage Report 2020 (Autumn edition) which features an insight into ‘The Future For Acreage This Decade' and outlines the Two Biggest Factors Set To Impact Acreage over the next decade and at the same time you'll be amongst the first to know about any of the 'Off-Market' acreages that I have coming up.

The Acreage Report also includes statistics about exactly what's happening within the Hawkesbury, Hills & Sydney’s North West acreage market.

Plus, you’ll also get instant access to The McGrath Report 2020 which features some great insights from property expert, John McGrath.

Now finally, if you’re thinking of selling your acreage property, I am currently working with a number of buyers who are still very keen to settle on an acreage property during this current market.

For example: One family are looking for an acreage property with dual accommodation for around the $1.5m price range and another qualified buyer who is looking for a larger acreage parcel with river frontage along the Hawkesbury River for around $2.3m and they would prefer either vacant land or something with an older house on it so that they can build a large home, but even if there's a larger home on the property it may also suit.

if you feel that your property maybe suitable and you’re considering making a move, get in touch here

So there you have it, that’s it for another week’s Acreage Market Wrap.

If you’ve got any questions about anything I’ve shared this week or would like to discuss any of your acreage plans with me, don’t hesitate to get in touch.

Thanks for watching, stay safe and bye for now.

Regards

Greg Vincent