While most, if not all, real estate agencies endured some form of negative impact from the COVID-19 shutdowns, the degree of recovery with the easing of restrictions in more recent days has varied across the Port Stephens divide.

On the Tomaree Peninsula, the Shoal Bay-based PRDnationwide Port Stephens is emerging from the initial shock in a slightly better position than it was pre-COVID-19.

Principal Bruce Gair said that sales had picked up appreciably as restrictions have gradually been lifted.

"Just in the past weeks we have sold four properties under the hammer via virtual auction - three of which sold for in excess of $1.3 million and the fourth at around $700,000."

Mr Gair said that the sales bade well for a strong, but steady, winter season ahead.

"Our inquiry rate suggests we will continue to move along at a steady pace over the next three to four months and, with every possibility, see a more rosy spring/summer period. Certainly our inquiry rate from Sydney, Hunter Valley and Newcastle has remained quite positive."

He said that the coronavirus crisis had even brought some benefits, including the fact that almost all inquiries coming into the office in the early stages of the shutdown "were from genuine buyers and sellers".

"People who had sold elsewhere were in the market to buy. With our stocks low the message to those looking to sell - now is the right time."

The pandemic had also revealed some interesting feedback, he said. "Some of our buyers from Sydney expressed a preference to reside in a regional area [such as Port Stephens] and away from the city hotspot in the future likelihood of another pandemic."

Mr Gair said that the rental property market had been travelling at a steady pace.

"No doubt the JobKeeper program has helped ... while there has been some movement in the area, our vacancy rate continues to be below single digits."

The PRDnationwide Port Stephens office is a multi-award winning, with co-principal Dane Queenan currently ranked the the group's number one selling principal Australia wide.

2020 was expected to be a boom year for LJ Hooker Nelson Bay due to strong employment figures, low interest rates and a recovering Sydney property market.

"I was enjoying Christmas lunch and looking forward to a big 2020," said Jason Brennan, who is also celebrating his 25th year under the successful LJ Hooker brand in Nelson Bay.

And for the first two months of the year (January and February) all the indications were there to fulfill Mr Brennan's expectations, then the bubble burst.

"Obviously with the arrival of COVID-19 we had to change our forecast and the way we do business," he said.

"New restrictions and hygiene regulations were adopted, open houses had to be halted but fortunately we were able to hang on to all our staff. We looked at investing more in virtual technology, which has proved to be a real winner for us and for clients.

"The technology allows clients to do their own research and have their own private viewing form the comfort of their home."

Mr Brennan said that the temporary crisis point had passed and the easing of restrictions in recent weeks had accelerated inquiries.

"We have Sydney buyers waiting for the travel restrictions to be lifted [from June 1] and ready [to move or invest]."

"It appears the downtime has also allowed city dwellers to re-address their lifestyle. People are telling us they don't need to live in the big cities and many see Port Stephens as a viable alternative where you can still get value for money."

And while the pandemic has thrown the holiday rental market into upheaval, Mr Brennan said the signs were already there of a strong recovery.

"The cancellation of Easter bookings was unavoidable, but we have every reason to be optimistic for a stronger than usual winter period. In fact, the phones have been ringing solid since last week's announcement to lift travel bans," he said.

"My expectation is that people will want to holiday here all year round and not just during the traditional holiday periods, such as June long weekend and July school holiday. People who have been cooped up at home will be looking for short escapes and enjoying long weekends away right through the winter."

As for rentals, Mr Brennan said that the market had remained buoyant due to rental assistance programs announced by the government.

"It's pretty much business as normal, with our vacancy rate still around the 3 per cent mark."

In his own words, Heath Jones - one of the Bay's longest serving real estate agents - experienced his hardest, and quietest, periods throughout 2018-19.

"Up until 2018 our figures had improved year upon year since 2005. In addition, we had decided to open up on the Tilligerry peninsula," said the 25-year veteran and principal of Nelson Bay & Tilligerry Real Estate.

"In Nelson Bay, it seemed that someone had flicked on the light switch in January this year and the strong sales growth continued in February and March, so much so that our figures were up 60 per cent on the same quarter in 2019."

This short burst was stopped in its tracks by the coronavirus, where businesses closed down and people were instructed to stay at home.

Mr Jones said that in spite of the uncertainty, they made the decision to embrace change.

"We closed our doors but we remained open to inquiries. We had already invested in the technology of virtual tours so this gave our staff who were now working from home an advantage. This technology was particularly effective in the rental property market. We also continued to work hard through our electronic contacts, utilising Facebook, emails and telephones to keep buyers and sellers up to date."

My Jones said that the initial inquiry rate had dropped off, but had picked up in recent weeks and included two sales within 24 hours of each other.

"I will admit that I had imagined the worse but I have been surprised at how smoothly the market has bubbled along during this [pandemic] period."

As for the future, Mr Jones said that he expected the market to continue gaining momentum from where it left off pre-COVID-19.

"The banks are lending money and there are signs of renewed confidence so I have every reason to believe that sales will increase again."

He said that free standing homes were being snapped up.

"We are aware that a lot of people had held off selling during the crisis, but as things return to some form of normality the market will no doubt pick up."

On the rental front, Mr Jones said that they had very few properties available.

"Many of our clients are on long term leases and we found that people were unlikely to shift from one property to another during a pandemic."