Christmas season presents opportunity for property buyers to bag a bargain

It’s the most wonderful time of the year, but for some, Christmas and the New Year period can be even better when dabbling in the property space.

After a year of growth for the property market, the Christmas season may be the best chance buyers have to get a bargain in this market.

This is especially true of buyers with a lower budget that have been finding it tough to get in ahead of the other cashed up buyers.

Generally, there’s a lot of people that might have listed their property in the lead up to Christmas but might not have sold or the deal has fallen over, perhaps due to something like the pest and building report.

It’s also very common, especially now, that deals fall over on finance. In the current lending environment, finance is increasingly inaccessible.

This means good stock comes back onto the market as vendors realise the property they sold on- or off-market may not have come into fruition.

If you keep your eye on the market, there’s a lot of stock that comes back into the market just prior to Christmas or between that Christmas and early January period.

When this happens, vendors are usually very nervous and are left feeling worried the property will be left sitting vacant for a long time or isn’t going to sell for the expected price.

A good real estate or buyers agent will work with you through this period. They will still nurture sellers and relaunch the campaign in the back end of January.

But keep in mind, the bulk of buyers will be away until after Australia Day so they won’t be reappearing in the market until the beginning of February.

As we see day in and day out, there are some less committed agents out there.

Many agents get a little worried about their back pocket and will be trying to push any deal over the line as cheap as they can to make sure they get the commission before the New Year.

Some agents will feed off the fear of the vendor and help buyers bag a bargain just to clear the stock before Christmas.

This practice isn’t conducted by all agents, and it certainly isn’t condoned but there are a few who do it and it is a real opportunity for buyers to bag a bargain.

Vendors are cautioned to be aware of how their agent handles the listing over the Christmas period. It is advised to ask all relevant questions to ensure the agent has their best interest at heart in the case of a lingering listing.

Buying opportunity strikes

The opportunity around the Christmas and New Year period comes from agents driving good-buying power and vendors getting a little desperate.

Keep in mind, often vendors are pre-committed elsewhere and have already made another purchase that is putting upward pressure on their selling timeframe.

They could be moving in over Christmas and suddenly the sale comes undone or the property wasn’t listed early enough before Christmas.

This is a good opportunity to snap up a bargain, especially given most buyers are out of the market on holidays, creating less competition in the market.

Throughout the year, it has been a challenge for buyers, particularly in Perth and Adelaide, who come up against interstate investors buying in the state without even inspecting the property.

These investors are purchasing off the internet, paying big prices so many properties don’t even make it to the first or second open home.

This makes it near impossible for local home buyers to compete.

While we caution all buyers against buying without a proper inspection, we can’t deny it is happening prevalently, especially in the lower price points.

So, Christmas may bring a little reprieve for local buyers, while the interstate investors take a break from house shopping and focus on the silly season with family and friends, the locals might just be able to get ahead of them in December and January.