What the market looks like between now and Christmas
36 sleeps till Christmas! Although in real estate, we countdown the number of auction weekends until Christmas, and there’s only 5 of those left for the year! Wow. Where has the year gone??
So with only 5 auction weekends to go before we kick into a new year, let’s take a look at what that means for buyers and potential sellers hoping to transact pre Xmas.
If you’re actively looking online or planning to upload your property, this means that the last of the new auction campaigns will launch next week, a 4-week campaign means their auction date will be the 18th December. So beyond next week’s final listing influx, buyers can expect new property numbers to start dwindling.
However, we urge buyers not to stress. We often find in the lead up to Christmas there tends to be more off market property available. They are usually those properties which were being prepped to sell this year, but have missed the deadline and will need to be pushed into next year for a Jan/Feb campaign. Or the vendors who have purchased, and are keen to finalise their sale before the Christmas break.
Though we still feel there is strong buyer demand for quality property priced correctly, and with the usual push from people keen to secure something before the end of the year. There has been a slight shift in the market over the last 2-3weeks since Melbourne has sprung back to life.
Are people becoming so distracted by holiday bookings, Christmas party plans and beauty appointments that somehow their search for a new abode has fallen by the wayside? We’re not sure, but we have seen some results across Melbourne that suggest there is less of a ‘frenzied’ approach from buyers. We are seeing some property sell close to the top of the range, if not within the range. Which is a far cry from the 10-20% or more over the top end that we have been seeing over the last few months.
What does this mean for buyers in the market?
It’s crucial to stay across all property on the market of interest, and be in active contact with the agent to understand where the interest on any given property sits. Have they had contract requests, if so how many? Have they had second inspections, if so how many? Any building inspections? If numbers on these key points seem low, it might be a good one to keep an eye on.
In the lead up to Christmas it’s often a great time to purchase. Vendors are keen to lock things away before the break with the unpredictability of next year’s market looming like a dark cloud over them, and agents are keen to wrap up another ‘deal’ just in time for a Xmas spending spree!
If you do purchase a property over the next 6 weeks before Christmas, PLEASE check with your conveyancer as to their availability to settle over the Dec-Jan period.
Believe it or not conveyancers take breaks. Yep. They’re only human. So you might want to settle on the 2nd Jan 2022, but you’ll need to check someone will be around to complete it for you!
Until next time,
Tabitha