Melbourne real estate will fully open with COVID-19 safety measures from November 23
Melbourne real estate will fully open with safety measures from November 23, the Victorian premier Daniel Andrews advised today.
However from October 26, if the daily average of new cases is fewer than five and there are fewer than five cases with an unknown source in the prior fortnight, agents would be allowed to hold private inspections and to hold outdoor auctions subject to gathering limits.
In the meantime the spring Melbourne real estate market will remain only as online inspections for several more weeks.
Thousands of Melbourne home vendors were hopefully awaiting today's decision to commence their marketing.
The government has confirmed only services related to property settlement and the commencement of or ending of a lease, including removalists, are to be allowed until October 26.
The re-opening was advised by Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews in his five-step road map out of stage four lockdowns from September 14.
If all goes to plan, a fourth step would begin on November 23, provided there were no new cases for 14 days.
All retail would then also be open and the real estate industry would open with additional safety measures.
Restrictions were introduced in late March which included a ban on on-site auctions, with two loosening of rules from May allowing auctions to go ahead with just 10 bidders, which was later raised to 20.
Auctions were banned again when stage four was enacted in August, along with no permissible open for inspections.
Regional Victoria will see its second step begin on September 13 allowing private inspections to resume. But onsite auctions with attendance limits won’t be allowed until the third step.
Breakdown of roadmap for metropolitan Melbourne
- Curfew eased to 9pm to 5am
- Exercise increased to two hours per day
- Single "social bubbles"
- Public outdoor gatherings of two people or a household for up to two hours
- Playgrounds reopen
- Public gatherings increase to up to five people from two households
- Schools: staged return for Prep to Year 2, VCE/VCAL and specialist schools in Term 4
- Childcare reopens
- More workplaces open
- Outdoor pools reopen, personal training for up to two people per trainer
- Outdoor religious gatherings of up to 5 people plus 1 faith leader
- Curfew dropped
- Leave home – no restrictions on reasons or distance travelled
- Public gatherings increased to 10 people outdoors
- Visitors at home – up to five visitors from another nominated household
- Schools – potential staged return for Year 3 to 10 based on epidemiology
- Retail and hairdressing reopen
- Hospitality - predominantly outdoor seated service, group limit of 10 and density limits
- Sport – staged return of outdoor non-contact sport for adults. Outdoor under 18 years contact and non-contact sport resumes
- Public gatherings of up to 50 people outdoors
- Visitors at home – up to 20 visitors at a time
- Retail - all open
- Hospitality – indoor group limit of 20 people for seated service, cap of 50 patrons
- Real estate – open with safety measures
- Sport – open subject to safety measures, contact sport resumes for all ages
- Weddings, funerals – maximum of 50 people
- Religion – public worship resumes subject to density quotas