ALL ABOUT TIMING IT RIGHT

It’s a changing world, but the property market charges on

IT’S a sign of the times that each week as I sit down to write this column on a Monday (OK, occasionally it creeps into a Tuesday … afternoon!), one of my first concerns is whether or not what I commit to print will remain relevant or be out of date by the time each issue is out.

In an industry built on bricks and mortar, it’s quite confronting to think about the pace of change we’re currently experiencing. It truly is unlike any other time we’ve known.

On the not-so-positive side, the last seven days have seen an escalation of responses to COVID-19 outbreaks in our southern states, with trips to Sydney now off the table.

As for our economy reopening for that all-important tourism dollar, we (along with the rest of Queensland as well as much of Australia) are off the holiday list for Sydneysiders. We’ll just take it as read that we won’t be seeing too many Victorians any time soon either.

So, what have these further lockdowns and border restrictions done to our local market?

Put simply, the biggest impact (which actually remains milder than anticipated) is a reduction in active property investors from those sectors.

While buyers can still make their purchases sight-unseen, this remains a relatively uncommon occurrence and aside from the technical possibilities, with chaos closer to home, I suspect our southern neighbours will be focused inwards for some time.

For the owner-occupied market, especially in the $300,000-$500,000 range, properties are still ticking over, with again, some surprisingly positive results coming through.

Even the top end of the market has had its green shoots, with a few $1m-plus contracts popping up in recent weeks, though there are still areas seeing more challenges than others.

While things are running well for the moment, timing is critical more than ever for both buyers and sellers in this market.

For buyers looking to get into what’s fast becoming a market of tight supply, you need to be quick when dealing with brokers and banks, as backlogs are only going to get worse as capital-based staff have hours reduced or go back to working from home.

So, don’t miss out because of something like an extended finance clause.

For sellers, we’re more and more often seeing the best buyers in the first seven to 10 days on market.

With this in mind, focus your energy on having your property at its absolute best presentation and marketing peak from the very first day to ensure the most of this activity and to not only sell, but to sell for more!