With only a few weeks left until Christmas, vendors are often left wondering about the prospect of selling during the holiday period. While not traditionally considered the optimum time to sell, for some vendors these days it can actually prove quite advantageous.
While the feeling is often that many buyers are away and not in buying mode, there are also some upsides. There are generally fewer homes on the market and fewer auctions, creating more demand and competition between those buyers who are still looking. And with the internet now the primary method for searching for property, buyer interest doesn’t diminish merely because they are away on holidays, like it once may have.
Then there is also the fact that people on holidays often have more time on their hands to think about buying, research properties and get their finances in order. On top of this, there is always an influx of ex-pats who can finally take the time to view properties in person. There is also a diverse background of buyers in the marketplace, with their own beliefs about Christmas, which needs to be considered when looking at prospective purchasers and their buying habits.
Those vendors who live in areas frequented by local holiday makers and overseas visitors can also benefit from listing their properties during the summer break. There is still time to put a campaign together before Christmas, so speak to your local One Agency agent.
In other news, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has advised the Reserve Bank of Australia to lift interest rates in the first half of 2015. They believe this will prevent housing prices rising to risky levels and then unwinding sharply. The OECD’s semi-annual economic outlook from the Paris-based agency forecasts the Australian economy to expand at a below-average rate of 2.5% next year and recommends the Reserve Bank begin lifting interest rates from the second quarter of 2015. Noting the cash rate at an historic low of 2.5% since August 2013, the OECD suggested persistent low rates were causing a “search for return” among investors.
“This requires close oversight of asset-market developments, particularly rising housing credit, which is now being driven by investors,” the OECD thinktank said, according to a Fairfax Media report. “Further prudential measures on mortgage lending should be considered as a targeted means to cool the market, thereby heading off risks to financial stability,” the OECD says.
