Why you should be active in the winter market
July 16, 2015 / Written by Rich Harvey
By Rich Harvey, CEO, propertybuyer.com.au
Traditionally, the spring selling season is the hive of activity in the Australian property market. People have completed their post-winter cleaning, the sun is out for longer, and people are out in droves looking to buy investment property in Sydney, or perhaps a new family home.
While the focus still remains on these warmer months, winter tends to get overlooked by house hunters. But are you making a mistake by doing this?
There's less selling competition in winter
As I've said before, Sydney is a hot sellers market right now. This means that rather than wait for the right property to crop up, you're better off selling first, as you can secure a premium price. From there, your expanded budget combined with the expertise of a buyers' agent will be able to get you into any number of great properties.
Doing this in winter is ideal. By beating the spring selling rush, you're competing with fewer vendors. You don't have to work as hard to get your real estate noticed, and less competition means there isn't a race to the bottom, where vendors have to lower prices to attract attention.
Using this as a platform, you can then have much more power as a buyer when you head to the negotiating table for your next Australian property.
The market is still hot
We've seen the Reserve Bank of Australia cut the cash rate to record lows, and a lot of lenders followed suit. However, as it has stayed at 2 per cent in the last few months, interest rates haven't dropped any lower. In fact, some lenders have even been inching their fixed rates up just a fraction.
Nothing lasts forever, and these market conditions aren't something you should be passing up. The ability to borrow money for a new home at such low interest rates means that even in rising markets like Sydney, property is actually incredibly affordable.
With constant debate about whether the cash rate will go up or down again over the rest of the year, winter provides you with an opportunity to get in and secure a home loan for your next home before the wind changes and interest rates rise.
Don't let rising prices fool you - it's still a fantastic time to enter the property market. Use the lack of winter competition to sell at a premium, and then come to us when you're ready to buy. A buyers' agent will know exactly how to find you premium real estate with your newfound purchasing power.
