The impact of coronavirus has yet to trickle through to house prices with rises across the nation of  0.7 per cent last month. Data analysts, however, state that it was the lowest monthly gain since the real estate market lifted in July last year.

Ray White South Melbourne Sales Manager Michael Pastrikos said that he had sold $5 million worth of property over the last 10 days of March and noted one of his busiest months ever.

“Our office has been active off the back of a rising market with a lot of momentum,” Mr Pastrikos told Neos Kosmos, adding that there is still plenty of movement on the market despite social distancing measures currently in force.

The 22 March announcement banning open homes and auctions has changed the way in which business is conducted with video tours offered to ensure that only serious buyers visit the properties listed.

“We still have showings by private appointment, however we make sure that anyone walking through hasn’t travelled recently and isn’t unwell,” he said, adding that Ray White is still hosting digital auctions and that technology is keeping the market going.

Mr Pastrikos said that only one seller pulled their home off the market since coronavirus, whereas three-four new properties entered the market last week.

Jim Lazogas of Lazogas Real Estate has seen plenty of turbulence on the exciting, and sometimes unpredictable, property market since he first started his business decades ago.

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“At the moment it is a bit early to tell what will happen,” he told Neos Kosmos.

“There are still people with jobs and money, and at the moment we have not noticed a drop in house prices yet. If anything, things are currently stable.”

Mr Lazogas is bracing himself for a potential 10-15 per cent decline as coronavirus impacts people’s finances, however he believes that it could be offset by a growing population in big cities.

“The property market is about supply and demand,” he said, noting that several buyers have taken their properties off the market fearing that they would get less than their asking price.

“Yesterday, an elderly gentleman discussed putting his house for sale as it was too large for him. He said, ‘If I get less, then I will also pay less when I buy my new property’. That sums it up.”

CoreLogic head of research Tim Lawless is not so optimistic as the world enters a period of “unprecedented uncertainty” that could drag Australia’s economy into recession for the first time in 30 years.

“There’s a lot more uncertainty, particularly when you’re seeing several parts of the economy shutting down for an extended period of time,” Mr Lawless said.

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Both while Mr Lazogas and Mr Pastrikos predict that a temporary dip may come, neither expect to see a crash or house prices plunge to rock bottom.

“We’ve just been through a big life adjustment and are now working from home, conducting virtual meetings,” Mr Pastrikos said. “However, once we adjust to the new way of living we will start to see that life goes on and the market will pick back up again.”

And as Mr Lazogas adds, “people will always need shelter”.