The month of February 2020 has seen drastic developments to COVID-19, already leaving in its trail losses in the billions of dollars in global stock market value, businesses and supply chains. As we inch closer towards a pandemic, the Coronavirus could end up costing the global economy trillions in lost income.
As China slowly regain control over its epidemic, global outbreaks in South Korea, Japan, Iran and Italy are now threatening to turn COVID-19 into a true global pandemic. Along with the stock market, we are also seeing drop in gas prices and mortgage rates amid coronavirus fears. The containment of COVID-19 looks bleak as more than 56 countries now have confirmed infections. How will it affect us locally in Australia?
RBA’s latest rate cut to 0.5 per cent echos the severity of the situation; putting much needed stimulus into the economy as the coronavirus increases its spread globally. COVID-19 has also started to directly affect Melbourne’s property market, albeit only the top-end of the market so far. As Chinese buyers and students are affected by travel restrictions, there’s an increase in vacancies for rentals as well as limited exposure to offshore investors, which top-end of the property market are always relying on in maximising the sale price. Although the immediate impact are mostly confined to the top-end property market, further spread of the virus could dent confidence and cause further uncertainty in the already cautious market.
Picking the right time to sell or buy property is a tricky task. What you will always have control over is your readiness to act when one deems the timing to be right. There is no bad time to action renovations, as you can immediately benefit from the completed works and it will very likely increase the value of your property in the long run.