Back in the spring of things!

Everyone loves to know the “state of the market”.

But has this spring lived up to its expectation of being “the best time to sell”?

There is little argument that springtime brings a renewed gusto to the real estate market. With the hibernation phase of winter left behind, gardens beginning to blossom and Christmas looming, a revival of sorts happens at this time every year.

Or does it?

The recent pandemic changed a lot in our lives, including turning expected housing market trends on their head. With a swift drop in values at the start of the pandemic, there was no shortage of surprise when prices surged for no apparent reason other than a shortage of stock. Come May 2022, the first in a string of interest rate rises was applied and the rate of growth of property prices began a slow decline.

Spring of 2023 was a sluggish affair when it came to real estate. The expected seasonal revival failed to materialise in September with a bit more activity occurring in October. It seemed affordability was starting to bite and confidence was lacking among prospective sellers.

Fast forward 12 months and the scene is completely different. Property listing numbers are the highest in nine years and 10% up on last year. In turn, the flow of new listings has tempered prices as buyers have less borrowing power and more selection.

Auction clearance rates have wound back to the low 60% range is about 4 percentage points below the decade average. Similarly, homes sold by private treaty are staying on the market longer, with a median of 32 days to sell through the September quarter, up from 29 days in the June quarter and 27 days a year ago.

So what does this all mean?

Despite the discouraging data, Sydney home values have continued to rise, (even though the September quarter was the lowest growth result since the three months ending February 2023). Good quality properties are still attracting strong sale prices but there is no doubt that buyer numbers are down. Preparation, education and strong negotiation are required in this market and you can be one of the 60% that sell and be happy with the result.