According to Managing Director of The Mortgage Store, Glenn Maynard, Christmas is a notoriously bad time to sell property with everybody is preoccupied with holidays and social gatherings. And, says Maynard, a bad time to sell means and good time to buy.
"Anyone selling around the Christmas period usually means they need to sell - they may be suffering from some sort of financial hardship or have bought another house," Mr Maynard said.
"If prepared to sacrifice some Christmas festivities, homebuyers could find themselves a well priced property over the next couple of weeks.
In addition says Maynard, many real estate agents and solicitors shut down for 2-4 weeks and will tell you to put your house on the market in February or March.
"If the people who sell property for a living are saying don't sell now then you need to ask yourself why would someone be selling at this traditionally bad time?"
Outside of Christmas, Maynard says property cycles occur often and homebuyers should take this into consideration when purchasing a home.
"The market stopped for four weeks over the Olympics and when everybody was back at work and life was back to normal there was a 10% capital growth within 4-6 weeks," he said.
While the recent federal election did little to the property market in November, the election prior (March 1998?), says Maynard, certainly caused some unrest.
"In November, the major party policies were not too dissimilar therefore market remained strong as homebuyers looked for stability. The election prior was fought on economic policy (ie. GST vs no GST) and as a result the market slowed due to the uncertainty of it all," he said.
Uncertainty was also the order of the day around the September 11 disaster where the market stopped to a stand still for X days.
Weather can also effect property cycles as poor weather will deter people away from open houses, therefore decreasing the competition (and price) at auction.
"Generally there is a four week marketing campaign followed by an auction. If the weather is poor four weekends in a row the number of people attending an inspection reduces dramatically," Mr Maynard said.
Maynard says homebuyers (and property investors) should consider cycles when purchasing a property. He says share traders have been following them for years.
"In the share market they way ‘buy in gloom, sell in boom'. In the property market we say ‘bad time to sell, good time to buy'," he said.
The Mortgage Store offers free finance help to buyers and sellers.
KB: Q0001
Last Updated: 26 Sep 2006
