There’s no doubt the coronavirus pandemic has created a unique set of challenges for all businesses, including the real estate industry.

At Toop&Toop, April was a month when we had to adjust the way we go about our business.

It required some agile thinking and innovation but our core role of matching buyers with sellers did not change and we achieved a number of excellent results for our clients.

Across the broader industry, research released by property data analyst CoreLogic showed the growth in national dwelling values slipped to 2.1 per cent in the three months to April, down from a peak of 4 per cent in the December 2019 quarter.

In Adelaide, value growth in the three months to April sat at 0.8 per cent, while the annual growth rate across the state was 1.5 per cent.

While dwelling values in Adelaide increased by just 0.4 per cent in April, it is worth noting they do currently sit at a record high.

Despite the restrictions on open inspections and auctions introduced by the government in late March, the anecdotal evidence we gathered at Toop&Toop underlined the resilience of the Adelaide property sector.

While CoreLogic data showed the volume of new listings in Adelaide reduced by 44.7 per cent compared with the same time last year, the level of buyer interest we experienced could certainly be described as healthy.

On average, we sold more than one property a day during April and, of more than 200 qualified buyers who physically visited Toop&Toop properties last month, 21 per cent were new to the market.

Not surprisingly, online viewing figures were very strong, too. Our property listings on realestate.com.au enjoyed a 30 per cent traffic increase in April, while there were 2173 virtual inspections on the toop.com.au website, an increase of nearly 200 per cent on the previous month.

Our specialised ToopCreate interactive tools also proved popular, recording a 27 per cent increase in usage compared with March.

As a result, we had several properties that sold beyond vendor expectations, including a suburb record price for a home in Trinity Gardens.

In the short to medium term, we expect to see increased competition for quality homes due to a likely sparsity of new stock.

Given the restrictions in place, it comes as no surprise that the number of buyers physically viewing properties in Adelaide decreased significantly.

In the pre-coronavirus era, we may have seen around 100 people at an open inspection for a well-located, well-presented home.

Of those, a handful might make an offer.

Now we might conduct 10 private one-on-one viewings for the same property – and still end up with multiple offers.

While the quantity was down, the quality was good.

Most buyers we worked with in April were qualified, had their finances in order and were eager to act.