First up on tonight’s show, what is an off-market or silent sale, and are they best for buyers or sellers?

As Chris explains, a property sold without being listed or advertised on any of the major real estate portals is typically considered an off-market sale. There are however two primary types of these transactions; a pre-market opportunity and a 'true' off-market opportunity.

“In a pre-market situation, an agent will connect with interested parties in the hope of receiving an offer before the property is promoted publicly or taken to auction. In a true off-market opportunity, the property in question is sold without any immediate plans to be placed on the market” says Chris.

For vendors, one of the main benefits of a silent sale is eluding the stress and inconvenience associated with a traditional property sale. And while off-market deals can have a number of advantages, they may also present additional risk. 

According to Chris, “no matter whether you’re buying at auction, pre-auction, off-market or a really true off-market, it's essential you do your due diligence and make sure you’re not paying too much and ensure the property really does tick all the boxes.” Sage advice, as always Chris.

Joining Chris tonight to give a little perspective from the frontlines of the property market, is James Bell, Head of Network Services at C21 Australasia. “I’d call it a stable market” says James, “I think the stock levels are very low at the moment, so I think there’s an expectation of pent up buyer activity that is certainly keeping us in a very stable environment.”

As to what Joe Public sees in the media, “there’s been a lot of doom-sayers, a lot of predictions around 20-30%, there’s been a lot of referencing back to GFC times but there are some fundamental differences.” And he’s right, with the most obvious being the current cash rate of 0.25%, compared to 7.25% during the GFC period. It would seem the media are happy to compare apples with oranges, perhaps conveniently leaving out the understanding of the “different fiscal scenarios” as James puts it.

And with the recent discussion around aged care facilities in relation to COVID-19, tonight Chris is joined by Sally Taylor, Executive Director at Provectus Care to educate us on a topic that is often fraught with emotion and only discussed by families when it becomes absolutely necessary.

Beginning by clarifying that aged care, as legislated under Commonwealth regulations, is the high-care of our elderly and frail who require 24 hour care, Sally says “it’s a very different proposition to when we’re talking about things in the property market like retiring and downsizing. Most specifically, it really isn’t a choice, it really is something that people do have to do.”

“There are very, very strict standards imposed by the Commonwealth government where certain provisions need to be provided to all our elderly and that is very, very closely protected and regulated whereas, when you start talking about different types of facilities such as retirement villages, then you have a far wider range of the types of services and the types of levels standards of what’s provided.”

Speaking to the advantages of downsizing to a retirement village or “independent living facility” as Sally prefers, is “not only do you have that easy care, low maintenance type lifestyle but you also get the community that so many people are looking for. You get that social aspect” she says. “One of the other main advantages is that people get to an age in place in a retirement village, whereby they get to live independently for far longer than if they stayed in their family home which does not necessarily accommodate their changing needs and requirements as they get older.”

A truly insightful discussion with Sally tonight and we haven’t even touched on the unprecedented protections and financial benefits, now afforded to over 55’s who move into residences regulated by the various Retirement Village Acts around the country.

Watch tonight’s episode above to find out more from our industry leaders.

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