I’ve seen a significant increase to the number of enquiries for acreage lifestyle properties from people thinking about making a move away from the city, which I mentioned in this week’s Acreage Market Wrap…

“As we start to come out the other side of this crisis, a lot of people will be re-assessing their current lifestyle and this week I noticed a large percentage of acreage enquiries were coming from people living in the city who realise that they can work remotely very effectively from a home office.

Many are already starting to look into moving away from the crowded city life as they would much prefer to live and work amongst a more spacious, peaceful, natural surroundings of an acreage or tree-change lifestyle, especially on the outer fringes of the city so they can still commute on the odd-day if required.”

…and earlier today, property expert John McGrath also affirmed acreage lifestyle in Post-Covid 19 investment choices.

As we all spend more time at home due to social distancing and working remotely, there is the opportunity to ponder what is truly important to us and the type of lives we want to lead. Our homes are a reflection of this, so I see a wave of seachanging and treechanging in our near future.
Historically, social and economic events of this nature have also been a catalyst for people to reassess their investments. Typically, we see people surge back to property in times of uncertainty. I expect the same will happen again when the dust settles on Covid-19.
I anticipate a surge in demand for rural and regional luxury homes within two hours of the big cities, like they did post 9/11 as many people reassessed their priorities and lifestyle became top of mind.

I was out showing the property at 209 Greens Road, Lower Portland which overlooks the Hawkesbury River, where I recorded this Facebook Live video.

I currently have a number of great acreage lifestyle properties available at present and now that ‘the cat is well & truly out of the bag’ about what looks set to happen in the acreage sector Post-Covid 19, now is a good time to get a jump on securing the right escape away from the city life before the large wave of acreage lifestyle buyers begin to flood the market once the isolation restrictions become more relaxed.

Acreage has become very affordable now with interest rates at historically low levels as well as enjoying the additional space, the outdoors home entertainment options like relaxing around a firepit, horse riding, motorbiking and in many cases, you’ll get to enjoy privacy, tranquility plus resort-style living.

As John McGrath also said…

I think the main difference between this period and previous similar events is that everyone is better prepared to withstand the pressures. We are blessed to have some of the best banks in the world presiding over our lending and this has placed us in a stronger position to recover more quickly.
The government response and stimulus packages have been swift and robust. This should allow most people to move through this with far less pain than they would have otherwise had to endure.
Around the globe, Australian residential property is considered one of the safest assets and now, our weaker currency is providing a 30%-40% discount for many buyers purchasing in other currencies.

When you consider the national measures introduced to limit the spread of the Coronavirus with measures shown starting from the date they were introduced to ten days later, which is a rough estimate of time that researchers from the University of Melbourne believe that they might see the effect of the actions taken on case numbers.

Plus, with NSW having 6 cases of Coronavirus recorded yesterday, when compared to the peak of 212 cases on March 27th, (which was almost double the highest case numbers recorded in Vic of 111 on Mar 28), it looks like NSW has pulled together and have done a brilliant job of flattening the curve. Hopefully in the next few weeks we will see a number of the imposed restrictions reduced. Source: The Guardian

Here at McGrath it’s been business as usual but in an unusual way. There are still a number of buyers out in the market currently taking this opportunity to transact.

Whilst there’s currently fewer buyers in the market, many buyers are taking this opportunity to purchase because they have less competition at the moment, which could change very quickly once the strict COVID-19 restrictions start to become more relaxed.

Whilst sales in the acreage market haven’t been as active as they have been within the housing sector, I anticipate that there will be a lot more buyers in the market Post-Covid 19 looking for an acreage lifestyle.

if you’re thinking of buying or selling acres and would like any additional information about the current trajectory and the future of the acreage market, don’t hesitate to get in contact with me.

Regards

Greg Vincent

PS: Make sure you check out the full article from John McGrath about Post-Covid 19 investment choices.