Homeowners who won’t wait a day longer to sell after a tumultuous year are aiming to get deals done right through the Christmas and New Year’s period.
Real estate agents will work through the silly season, which is tipped to be the busiest December and January for Melbourne’s property market in memory.
And it’s already proved a bustling month — this week marks the city’s biggest auction test of 2020, with 1260 properties set to go under the hammer, according to realestate.com.au.
New December listings on the website have jumped by 67 per cent compared to the same time last year, and Real Estate Institute of Victoria data shows 160 auctions are already planned for Christmas week.
Ray White chief executive Stephen Dullens said there was no sign of a traditional pre-Christmas slow down, tipping bursting activity would lead to the “busiest January Melbourne’s ever had”.
“A lot of people have been sitting on the sidelines and they’re starting to see the pent-up demand and great sales results, which is leading to more confidence,” Mr Dullens said.
“We’re seeing more listings and there are auctions that will kick off from January 7 instead of the traditional restart date around Australia Day.”
He said Victoria’s hive of property activity was greater than other Australian cities, due to our extended lockdowns.
Vermont South vendors Steve and Helen Giannekas are determined to sell their three-bedroom house as an early Christmas present, sending 7 Janina Court under the hammer on December 23.
“The whole COVID-19 crisis reminded us life is pretty short, and that it was time for a bit of a tree change,” Mr Giannekas said.
“We saw a surge of people selling their homes in our area after everything started to open up after lockdown.
“While it wasn’t the plan to sell before Christmas, we saw confidence building and we went for it.”
Phillip Webb chief executive Anthony Webb said vendors who listed now would be part of “a rush to Christmas like no other”, while other sellers would get going from day one of 2021.
“We’re listing properties vendors want to launch in the middle of December to have a mid-January sale,” Mr Webb said.
“With new government housing grants and a reduction in stamp duty, it’s forcing people to make their decisions early.
“Buyers should be checking for new listings every single day at the moment because things are selling so quickly.”
Full Circle Property Advocates director Rob German said some vendors could be “desperate for sales” or in a position where they were forced to sell, putting buyers in the box seat.
“I am signing buyers up who are happy to wait to buy in January or February, but they are starting to look now in case good buying opportunities arise in the break,” Mr German said.
Source- Realestate.com.au