Open houses and inspections are taking on different forms throughout the property markets of the Illawarra and South Coast.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
With Greater Sydney (including Wollongong and Shellharbour) in lockdown, but local government areas such as Kiama and the Shoalhaven not subject to those restrictions, there has been some confusion as to the rules regarding who can attend open houses and inspections.
The Real Estate Institute of NSW has advised members that buyers or tenants can go into regional NSW for open homes or auctions "if it would be for a place of residence".
They say a reasonable excuse to leave home includes "inspecting a potential new home".
However, it is within the agent's discretion to turn prospective buyers away if they are from a lockdown zone.
Advice from NSW Health says people in Greater Sydney can "move to a new place of residence, or between your different places of residence".
There are a series of properties throughout the region that are available for various types of inspection, depending on the LGA they are located in.
Among Melinda Budd from Ray White Kiama's current listings is 8 Seaview Street, Kiama.
Set on 885 square metres, there isn't currently a price guide for the five-bedroom, two-bathroom home.
There will be an open home inspection on Saturday at 1pm, with the property to be auctioned on Monday, August 2.
Ms Budd said they had been allowing local people from outside of the lockdown zone to attend open houses, while legitimate prospective buyers from within Greater Sydney were only able to view the Kiama property in person via a private one-on-one inspection.
"For 8 Seaview Street, the first open home we had 28 groups of people through, all from outside of the lockdown area," she said.
"We just got them to socially distance and wait. They have to scan in with the QR Code, sanitize, masks on and there's only five people allowed in the house at any one time."
Ms Budd said the auction will take place at Kiama's Sebel Harbourside, with local buyers and the vendor able to attend in person, and those in the lockdown zone able to bid via phone or online only.
"There seems to be some conflicting information out there about whether Sydney people can attend an auction in person, but that's not what we're encouraging," she said.
"For private, one-on-one inspections, we give them a letter to come down. So if they are pulled over by police, which one of our clients was... They showed them the letter and it was all fine."
Among Claire Nunn from First National Coast & Country's current listings is 84 River Road, Shoalhaven Heads.
Set on 481 square metres, the three-bedroom, two-bathroom family home has a price guide of $2 million.
The waterfront reserve enjoys uninterrupted views over the Shoalhaven River.
The property will be available for an open house on Saturday at 1pm, followed by the auction at 1.30pm.
Buyers from the Greater Sydney area will not be permitted to attend the open house.
Local buyers can bid on-site, while those in lockdown can make an offer online via AuctionNow.
Mrs Nunn said while buyers from the Greater Sydney area could view a property in the Shoalhaven via a one-on-one private inspection, this had "definitely quietened down".
"I have shown property to Sydney buyers in the past few weeks, but only a handful," she said.
"A lot of people are, unless they are in dire straits and need to find a house because they've sold in Sydney, they're pretty much being respectful and not coming down.
"(Locals) are being respectful and wearing masks when they attend. There's still lots of locals looking to buy and attending auctions and open homes."
Under lockdown rules issued by the NSW government, auctions that people attend in person aren't allowed in Greater Sydney.
Within the lockdown zone, the four-bedroom, three-bathroom home at 52a Paterson Road, Coalcliff has a price guide of $2.2 million.
The property in the seaside enclave will go under the hammer on August 7.
The home is a 150-metre walk down to the sand or sea pool at Coalcliff Beach.
The layout separates the living areas from the sleeping quarters, with two living spaces and four rooms over three floors.
There will be COVID-Safe inspections of this property, by appointment only, from 12pm to 1pm on Saturday.
Selling agent, McGrath Thirroul's Vanessa Denison-Pender said individual, advanced bookings were required, and spaced 15 minutes apart.
She said most prospective buyers had been respecting this process for other properties and weren't turning up without a booking.