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The Real Estate Institute of Victoria has finally offered its thoughts on Dan Andrews’ plan to loosen restrictions around real estate when 70 per cent of the eligible population has at least one COVID-19 jab.
The Victorian state government first unveiled plans to relax real estate restrictions at the beginning of September.
According to the Department of Health data, this milestone is likely to be reached in mere days, with data as at 12 September 2021 revealing 66.8 per cent of eligible Victorians had received their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccination.
According to an opinion editorial piece published in the Herald Sun on Saturday, 11 September, 2021, and building on its full-page advertisements plastered across newspapers in Victoria last week, the REIV has argued that the easing of those restrictions “won’t be enough. Far from it”.
The REIV said “thousands of people will still be flying blind when making decisions on property.”
“And the market will still remain dormant, with low transactions only sky-rocketing prices and putting them out of reach for many.”
The institute has argued that online sentiment “overwhelmingly favours a return to private in-person inspections”.
The op-ed also stated, “Victorians are losing deposits, defaulting on contracts and are unable to secure appropriate living arrangements. And it has to be remembered that many of these people are not moving by choice”.
Calling the current situation “untenable”, the REIV said a groundswell of grassroots support for the re-opening of real estate is being echoed by business analysts, informed economic commentators, and industry leaders, “who are bewildered by the government’s indifference to such a significant sector”.
Prior to the full-page newspaper campaign, the REIV – alongside a number of Victorian leaders – had united under the catch-cry of “let’s get it done” to encourage an uptake of COVID-19 vaccinations, acknowledging the sector’s role to play in getting out of lockdown.
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