"I think prices are largely insulated, although there is clearly some downside risk with unemployment rate forecast to rise quickly."

Mr Christopher pointed out that only a quarter of properties are auctioned in the greater Sydney area and the rest of sales are conducted via private treaty.

In Melbourne, 30 per cent of properties are sold via auction, so the impact on sellers and agents there will be more pronounced, he said.

In Brisbane and Adelaide, only 3 per cent of homes are sold via auction and in Canberra the number is 4 per cent.

"As you can see, the majority of properties in this country still sell by private treaty, or by tender, so deals will still go through. But I think a whole bunch of vendors are likely to withdraw their property for sale," he said.

Rush to go online

The ban on public auctions and open homes has forced many agents to use online auctions and virtual inspections.


Upside CEO Adam Rigby said much of the real estate industry is behind what is needed right now in terms of the use of technology, however necessity will cause the shift to occur pretty quickly.

"In the short term, some agents will struggle," he said.

"The immediate impact of the ban on public auction is that auctions that were set to go in the coming weeks will move to an online auction or as private sale. As we move beyond that, agents will start employing other tactics for selling."

Charles Tarbey, CEO of C21 said it's a change that agents have to make.

"It's an interesting change the industry have to go through. We've been trying to prepare people for something like this over the last few weeks, so now it's just scrambling to get that change implemented," he said.