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CEO Antonia Mercorella has expressed her condolences to real estate professionals and communities dealing with the latest natural disaster.
The Real Estate Institute of Queensland (REIQ) has acknowledged real estate professionals are preparing now to assist affected lessors, tenants and sellers.
Ms Mercorella, in her role as chief executive, conceded that the state’s “unfortunate reality” is that natural disasters are “part and parcel of our landscape”.
“In Queensland, we are sadly no stranger to natural disasters and time and time again our communities have rallied together to help displaced residents and businesses,” she said.
“Our thoughts are with you and our hearts go out to you – the timing of this just before Christmas is simply devastating.”
Acknowledging a need for assistance, Ms Mercorella has flagged the REIQ Disaster Toolkit, available on the institute’s website, as a port of call.
She shared: “The REIQ developed the Disaster Toolkit in response to the Townsville floods and we have continued to build on it to make it relevant in a variety of events.
“It has served the real estate community well in cyclones, storms, floods and bushfires, and we hope it can be of assistance again for real estate professionals in the far north in the wake of this disaster.”
Alongside the immediate impacts of the disaster, the CEO also raised concern around the availability of housing for those in need during the clean up.
She warned: “The rental market in Far North Queensland is already experiencing extremely tight vacancy rates, with Cairns sitting at less than 1 per cent.”
“We’re concerned about the additional strain this disaster will put on rental supply, as residents are displaced from their homes during essential repairs and in some cases, lengthy rebuilds,” she continued.
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