What have we learned…

It’s hard to believe the year is almost over. I know we’re not there yet, and given the year we have had it is probably dangerous to think it is safe to call it just yet, but I think it’s important not to let the year end without taking stock of what we have learned, even as we have endured.  This is what I’ve come up with so far…

I’m sure there is much we will all have learnt as individuals, families, communities and countries, but I’m going to stick to how 2020 has impacted and influenced the residential property market, our clients and our profession.

As a business, Morton has learnt that we do have the capacity to be flexible and to adapt without compromising the quality of our service and our commitment to our team.  I’m incredibly proud that we managed the transition into and out of lockdown, we managed to keep our team and we managed to continue to deliver our clients strong, informed advice and outcomes based on our ability to rapidly assess and respond to the rapidly changing market conditions.

At the same time, we demonstrated the value of teamwork.  During lockdown, the strongest asset we had was the strength of our teams.  Our sales team continuously workshopped ideas and opportunities, so no agent of client was left isolated.  Our Property Management team were quite simply amazing.  Together they had the resilience, capacity, and determination to successfully navigate extraordinary challenges on behalf of their clients.

The market itself also proved resilient. 

We were certainly shown the reality that some pockets of Sydney property were heavily reliant on Australia’s position as a leading education destination, but we have also seen proof that if a gap opens in the market it actually doesn’t take long for it to fill.  The CBD rental market was under significant strain for several months, but it is already returning to healthy levels of demand.

And we have seen that even in a pandemic the desire and determination to invest in property remains relatively undiluted. Of course, there was some easing in activity and a heightened nervousness around value, but the market did adjust and good deals continued to take place.  So overall I think we have learned that we can do it. Do not get me wrong, I don’t want to go through another year like 2020 but whatever the new year might deliver we’ll be ready for it.