Jean-Paul Pelosi news.com.au November 13, 2017 5:51am
CHRISTMAS isn’t far away, and people are going to forget about buying and selling houses for a while. So is it too late for a last minute 2017 sale?
THE property market has a small window of opportunity leading up to Christmas, but does it favour buyers or sellers?
Buyer inquiries typically drop during the festive season and things don’t really pick up again until late January, so sellers might be disadvantaged.
However, managing director of buyers’ agency Propertyology, Simon Pressley says it can still be a good time for those sellers needing to move to their next home.
“If you’re selling and the price is less than what you were hoping to get, it’s still closure,” says Pressley. “You’re not going to be able to reconsider [offers] for probably four to six weeks before things get back to normal. Even then you might be presented with a similar sort of offer.”
So, selling now is a possibility, but think about you circumstances first and then study up.
Get a feel for your local market
No matter what time of year it is, buyer demand is everything. Ask yourself who might be interested in your property and how much competition is out there. Beyond talking to your real estate agent, recent online sales can help determine what’s currently selling and for how much.
Weekly auction clearance rates can also give you a feel for buyer appetite, but keep in mind that citywide auction percentages aren’t always relevant to your immediate neighbourhood.
Director of Matusik Property Insights, Michael Matusik says the age-old equation of supply and demand is what really matters at the local level.
“An area with, say, 100 properties listed for sale but only achieving 20 sales is in a slump,” says Matusik. “If we exchange the numbers, then it’s thriving. As one would expect, when supply is tight, dwelling prices lift.”
Some homes, such as this one in Auchenflower, Brisbane, are selling before auction as buyers look to purchase before the end of the year. But the market varies widely around Australia and in some states, it might be better to wait.
Matusik says that by his numbers a hot market has just three months of housing supply, while a market that’s warming up has three to six months-worth of supply. Beyond this length of time and you’re likely to see no price growth or falling prices.
A good example of a hot market is Tugun on the Gold Coast, where the number of visits per property is more than three times the average in Queensland, according to Realestate.com.au. By Matusik’s analysis there’s a very limited supply of homes in the area and this will surely benefit sellers.
Similarly, in a suburb like Ascot Vale in Melbourne, the number or people visiting properties still far exceeds the average across the state, according to Realestate.com.au. Further supporting this is that the ‘time on market’ in Melbourne — the average time it takes to sell a property — is among the lowest across the country (29 days), says CoreLogic RP data.
So, all signs point toward good selling in these types of popular areas.
Be realistic
It’s easy to get carried away by stats, though. Pressley says that while there are some good numbers to study, you must also have realistic expectations.
“If you’re looking to sell in Hobart, for example, you know there’s nothing on the market for sale,” he says. “As soon as someone gets wind of a sale, the agent has 10 or 15 informal offers lined up already. That’s how hot it is. You want a cunning agent that will exploit that.
“But if you’re selling in Sydney now it’s completely the opposite. Buyers have a lot more choice and there’s a heck of a lot less people interested.”
Have the right motivation
The last factor to consider is motivation. A recent survey of homeowners found that sentiment varies around the nation when it comes to selling price expectations. For example, sellers in Melbourne are generally the most optimistic, according the year-long survey to September by OpenAgent.
Meanwhile, Sydney sellers are still relatively optimistic, but their expectations have lowered more recently, the survey showed. Adelaide and Brisbane sellers have a more modest outlook, which lines up with generally lengthier times to sell in those cities.
Perhaps surprisingly, sentiment in Perth has increased, yet remains the weakest among all capital cities. This is reflected in the cities slumping prices.
All of this together suggests the opportunity to sell quickly isn’t a cinch. Each city is at different points of the property cycle and within that, each suburban market has variables to consider.
For instance, you might have heard about friends or family who have already bought their next home and are under pressure to sell before the holidays. This isn’t an ideal position to be in if there are lots of people selling similar homes at the same time.
“Each person’s motivation is going to be different,” says Pressley. “For some it might work to list now but for others it’s better to wait. And if you’re someone who is looking to sell and buy at the same time, I don’t think it matters because what you lose on one you’ll gain on the other.”
Jean-Paul Pelosi news.com.au November 13, 2017 5:51am
