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Buyers should be proactive and ready to act at any moment with major forces at play that could trigger an early start to the autumn selling season.
Seven weeks is all that stands between buyers and the start of the traditional peak autumn selling season, but Australia’s surging cost of living could trigger a record early start to home sales.
Buyers advocate and property adviser Colin Lee of Inspire Realty said many people have been torn over whether to buy over summer or wait for better lending conditions to kick in when interest rates drop, while others are anxious that the country may be headed for another property boom.
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Colin Lee is the founder and CEO of Inspire Realty.
But, he said, “it has been an extremely tough year, an untraditional year. There are many more reasons than usual for a supply of good housing to be available. And many more reasons for motivated sellers willing to adjust their expectations to meet offers”.
Unexpectedly, one of the biggest reasons was the cost of living which is driving some homeowners to sell regardless of timing.
“There will always be sellers, for a wide range of reasons. This year, financial hardship has moved high on that list. The end of each year is a time when thinking about tomorrow comes to the fore. Letting go of things that people can’t afford will be a choice for some and a necessity for others.”
“This is on top of the usual reasons for selling – empty-nester downsizing, growing family upsizing, capitalising on recent property growth, divorce and separation, tree- and sea-changing for a better quality of life, relocating for work and forced sales, among them.”
A multitude of reasons could force sellers to put properties up for sale regardless of what the market is doing.
Mr Lee, who bought his first investment property in 2011 for $505,000 in Meadowbank NSW with a deposit of $25,000, used equity in that property along with a rise in his income of $75,000 to buy his second in Everton Park in Queensland in 2014 for $538,000 – before going on to add six more across Sydney, Brisbane and Gold Coast with a value of over $7.5M.
He said falling markets could tempt some, and Queensland alone for example had over 80 suburbs seeing drops in house or unit prices in the last home price index data.
“There will be sellers happy to take their capital gain (in other properties) so they can buy now at a lower price,” he said.
His main tip for buyers was to have a proactive watch list.
“There are sellers listing now who absolutely must sell. Chances are they are going to be more motivated as they simply cannot wait too long, even knowing that prices may surge next year. Enter a watch list on listing sites.”
They should also get on a real estate agents’ “nice list” and watch market shifts, he said.
“Keep conversing with real estate agents for any upcoming properties that are earmarked for listing shortly into the new year.”
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Mr Lee said having and being on multiple watchlists was key.
“The third is to be in the know about market conditions. Market movements are always happening and you may be able to secure a good deal because of your prior and prepared knowledge of the streets and suburbs.”
He said all buyers should have pre-approval ready with their lender regardless.
“You will never know when a great opportunity comes along. You want your finances in order ready to make an offer immediately.”
He said sometimes it was not about the price but who can get the deal done right then.
“Oftentimes, it’s a combination of terms and conditions, such as fewer days for finance conditions, building and pest inspections and settlement details,” he said.
He urged buyers to make offers wherever they could, even if they did not win it.
“Be the buyer making offers. We have been very lucky sometimes just because there are not as many offers as luck would have it, and since we are in the position to negotiate when there is a lack of offers, we have been able to bag a bargain.”
All buyers should not be hunting without pre-approval from their lender so that they have the chance to act on opportunities.
It also paid to offer realistic price to the seller, especially where they were not desperate to sell immediately.
“Sometimes there is merit in offering what a property is worth to get into the market and ahead of competition.”
Mr Lee said “it’s no secret that a cut in interest rates is expected to occur in 2025. The prevailing idea is that a property price surge will follow,” he said, with the big four banks picking the first to occur between February and May.
While it will allow for breathing room for borrowers, Mr Lee said the expected fall to 3.85 per cent by the end of 2025 “will still be higher than it has been for much of the last decade”.
He said buying before the market kicks back into gear at the end of summer 2025 was an untraditional idea with little property on the market, “but it has a lot of smarts behind it”.
Among the areas he sees opportunities are Brassal, Marsden and Regents Park ($600-$800k); Daisy Hill, Thornlands and Moorooka ($800-$1m); and Victoria Point, Wellington Point and Cleveland ($1-$1.5m).
