South African businesses are in a state of emergency as President Cyril Ramaphosa has issued a 21-day lockdown in order to stem the COVID-19 pandemic.
On Monday, 23 March the President showed great leadership as he announced a raft of funding measures to stem the backlash to the country’s already recession hit economy, with the lockdown set to come into effect by midnight on Thursday, 26 March. A number of concessions to avoid business closures and retrenchments have seen South Africa’s citizens placed at the heart of some extremely tough decisions.
Echoing this sentiment is the decision by South Africa’s largest online property portal to waiver fees for real estate agents for April.
“We believe the President is doing the right thing for the country and are fully supportive of government efforts,” says Property24 CEO JP Farinha.
“In the coming weeks it is clear that real estate transactions will plummet. If we look at the data out of China we can see that the drop will be temporary, but it will certainly cause cash flow problems and difficult times for all of us.
“Property24 has made the decision not to charge for our services to real estate agents for the month of April while the lockdown is in force,” says Farinha.
Property24 data shows that it has not seen any substantial impact on visits and leads across the portal, however feedback from the market is that sales have already dropped off.
“We believe that activity will decline from now until after the lockdown period,” says Farinha.
Property24’s pricing model means that as leads decline, so do the costs. With the Covid-19 fee waiver, the only exceptions are the March services billed in arrears for rental listings and additional out-of-bundle, value-added services (VAS) purchased during the month of April. These include premium and featured promoted listings. Agents are advised to email support@property24.com should they have any questions or need further clarity.
“Although this decision comes at a substantial cost to Property24, we believe it is the right thing to do under the circumstances and we urge other service providers to follow suit.
“We are hopeful that the lockdown measures are successful and that the country unites around this unprecedented challenge. May you and your families stay safe and healthy in this trying time,” concludes Farinha.
Print
