Should you sell now or wait for Spring?
While the media is making a noise about the property prices falling in Sydney and Melbourne, some sellers are holding onto hope that the traditional time of selling in Spring may fetch them a better deal.
The sentiment out there is that it’s better to sell now while there is less competition and it’s going to get a lot harder before it gets better, given more impending rate rises and inflation.
We saw a 2021 winter property market featuring $1200-a-day price rises in our biggest capital cities – this winter the property market couldn’t look more different if it tried.
House prices fell by 2.7 percent in Sydney in the last quarter to June – the steepest quarterly fall since early 2019. Melbourne house prices fell by 0.9 percent according to Domain’s House Price Report.
Source: Domain
We are seeing a two-speed market with Sydney and Melbourne in decline, while every other capital city still rose in value over the June quarter, with Brisbane and Adelaide remaining the nation’s strongest property markets, year to year.
Listing inventory is still relatively low at the moment, so sellers may gain a slight advantage to act swiftly and get ahead of the competition before the heightened activity in Spring.
New listings in Sydney last month were down 8.4 percent from May and 2 percent year-on-year.
But total listings were up 13.1 percent from last year, as homes languish on the market longer.
Should buyers wait for property prices to fall further, or buy now?
Some buyers are waiting to see if the property prices fall further and just sitting on their hands. But if they are borrowers, sitting back and cherry-picking the market, they risk being reassessed by the bank and their borrowing capacity reduced by increased interest rates.
This doesn’t apply to wealthy or cashed-up buyers as they are not relying on borrowing and are not concerned with what happens with interest rates.
Whether you are a buyer or a seller, the property market is going through a period of uncertainty and trepidation, with not enough confidence to make a move either way.
A bit of a Mexican standoff you could say!