The Winter Selling Season Approaches
Typically, at this time of the year as we approach the end of the financial year and head into the winter months, nationally, the property market somewhat eases however this year may prove to move to a different beat.
From my research, the best times to sell in Australia appear to be the autumn months of March and May, followed by the spring months of October and November. What may be surprising is that sales on the Sunshine Coast can pick up over Winter as interstate holidaymakers choose the coast for its more temperate weather. Generally, on the Sunny Coast, we have fairly consistent sales across the year. However, I get a feeling that this year on the Sunshine Coast we will likely see a spike in sales over the winter months.
The reason I suggest this is that the amount of people migrating to the Sunshine Coast isn’t slowing, with 30,000 new residents in 2020 with many more expected to rise here in 2021. According to realestate.com.au nationally buyer demand is still outstripping supply with view per listing up 106% year on year and 6.1% in March alone with Queensland seeing the strongest lift of 127.4%.
Properties are selling in record times that just go to show the intensity of those competing to buy their next home. The average days on market nationally are down from 71 days to 48 days with Palmwoods time on the market at just 33 days. Buyer sentiment is shifting as property prices increase and knock out many first home buyers with investors starting to look at putting their money against the property. According to realestate.com.au in March investors accounted for 16.9% of all inquiries with first home buyer inquiries falling to 22.1% of all inquiries. And while first home buyer numbers have consecutive monthly declines according to a report by Michael Yardney buyer numbers are still up 65% on the first three months this year compared to 2020. In Queensland, investor lending is well above any other state sitting at 19%. We are seeing many interstate buyers choosing to secure a property in Queensland initially as an investment but with a plan to move into some time in the years to come.
Fewer people are now searching for properties in the sub $500,000 range with the most popular search category of $500,000 to $750,000. The $1M to $1.5M category has also shown a positive move both across our capital cities and regionally. Ms Flaherty from the REA suspects we will see many more new properties listed for sale over the remainder of 2021 she suspects might alleviate current supply constraints. Across Australia that may be the case however, I feel that the Sunshine Coast market will see more properties come available for sale yet buyer demand still fairly strong.
