Cyclone Alfred to see return of pandemic safety measure

Cyclone Alfred off the east coast of Australia. Picture: Windy

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The approaching Cyclone Alfred has caused real estate agents across Brisbane and South-East Queensland to consider making Saturday’s upcoming auctions online-only events.

Ray White Queensland CEO Jason Andrew said the most teams across the company were either pursuing a switch to online auctions or delaying the events to a later date.

“Our strong advice that we are giving to our leaders is that they should look online or consider the possibility of postponing,” he said. “One of the benefits that came out of the horrible situation that was Covid was the [advantage] of online auctions.”

Tropical Cyclone Alfred has been predicted to hit South-East Queensland later on Thursday. Photo: Bureau of Meteorology

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Mr Andrew said with 120 of its divisions and 60 per cent of its members in the cyclone’s trajectory, Ray White Queensland’s first priority would be “the safety of all of our staff”.

“We feel the best policy is to work from home Wednesday-Friday at a bare minimum,” he said. “We’re quite fortunate that [we’re working with] some subject matter experts: a lot of our businesses up in North Queensland have been dealing with cyclone after cyclone.”

He added the company’s teams were checking in with property owners and tenants across the area, along with sign board companies to try and remove “For Sale” signs to prevent a risk of damage.

The Friday auction for the shopping centre at 67-71 Wilgarning St, Stafford Heights, was delayed until next Thursday.

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It’s been decades since a tropical cyclone made landfall the region, and is expected to be the worst weather event for the Gold Coast in 70 years. Picture: NewsWire/Gaye Gerard

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Some like Ray White Chief Auctioneer Gavin Croft have already cancelled most of their auctions for the weekend.

Ray White Commercial has cancelled the auction for 67-71 Wilgarning St, Stafford Heights. Initially set to go to auction on Friday, the retail centre’s auction will now take place on March 13.

According to Mr Andrew, many other teams are currently in a “wait and see” stage. Ray White Collective, Ascot and Wilston teams are currently going ahead with auctions, while staying flexible in case a change is needed.

93 Creek Rd, Mount Gravatt East, up for sale with Ray White AKG. Several Ray White businesses have postponed events for the weekend, with others moving online.

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Representatives for Place Estate Agents took a similar stance, with auctions planned to go ahead until further notice.

Place Estate Agents Chief Auctioneer Peter Burgin said his team was “cautiously optimistic”, but have “a firm plan in place” should they feel the need to pivot.

“All of our auctions are available online, people can watch or participate online,” he said. “That may be more of a consideration for buyers this weekend that don’t want to move around, and we would encourage them to use that facility if they feel more comfortable doing that.”

67 Brinawa St, Camp Hill, for sale with Place Camp Hill. Place Estate Agents auctions are moving forward, but the teams are prepared to make changes as the week goes on.

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Mr Burgin said the “overwhelming” feedback he was receiving from sellers and buyers was a desire to hold off on a decision until later in the week. He added the teams would follow government advice about safety procedures throughout the next few days, and will be assessing “whether people are even in the mood to be selling and buying properties”.

“Stay in close consultation with the agents marketing the property, in case there’s any change to the auction or the venue,” he said. “It can be difficult to let everybody know at short notice.”

Director of Apollo Auctions Justin Nickerson said most auctions his team was covering were looking to move to online, with several postponing and others waiting on further developments.

Updates on auctions across Brisbane and SEQ to come.