Would you list in December or wait til the new year?

[beachgurl]

My house slider is giving me grief on finishing his job and it now looks like the completion of the post slide construction and renovation will blow out from mid November to end of November.

Would you list the property in December, or would you wait til the new year?

On the other side of the coin, will you stop looking for properties to purchase in December or does your search not switch off over the silly season?

 

[see_change]

We've been working through the same question .

If it was December vs Feb . I'd be watching the market closely from now to Christmas , doing a weekly search of comparables and places just above and below yours , how many listed , are they selling . Go to open houses and talk to the agents and the other " buyers " so you can gauge the market .

Apparently dec is normally quieter , but last year was crazy . My parents listed their property in early dec and went to auction after one week given the interest and sold 200 over their expectations. I pushed them to go then because I saw what was happening .

I'd probably still go before Christmas . If it's in Sydney the market is still strong . There are always people who want to have bought before Christmas and you never know when they'll walk through the door .

Cliff

 

[Ed Barton]

On the other side of the coin, will you stop looking for properties to purchase in December or does your search not switch off over the silly season?

If I was in the market to be buying I wouldn't switch off just because baby jesus was born.

 

[Peter_Tersteeg]

My experience of the market slowing down around Christmas is about 50/50. Some years it keeps going straight through, other times it slows from mid December to mid January.

Put the market on the property, but also be prepared to wait until selling it if you didn't get the price you want.

 

[Big Will]

You will get lookers and more serious buyers in Dec IMHO.

People have crazy goals like I want to buy a house before the end of the year so they will take anything/pay anything however they might wait till more stock.

If you are not living then you have to account for 2 months of not receiving rent which could be better utlised.

 

[Davothegreat]

You might have to drag through a delayed settlement if the buyer's solicitor (or your own for that matter) takes an extended Xmas break called "all of January" but that'd still put you ahead of waiting until Feb before listing in terms of holding costs.

 

[ZachAnSel]

Same with Cliff, depends on location and market. In normal condition, I will prefer to wait. But if this is Sydney, then perfect timing

 

[see_change]

You might have to drag through a delayed settlement if the buyer's solicitor (or your own for that matter) takes an extended Xmas break called "all of January" but that'd still put you ahead of waiting until Feb before listing in terms of holding costs.

The ones I've seen , the agents and solicitors mutter and curse , but things get done . 20 years ago it might have been different.

Cliff

 

[Ed Barton]

If you are not living then you have to account for 2 months of not receiving rent which could be better utlised.

I don't think the rent matters much if you're not living!

 

[Big Will]

I don't think the rent matters much if you're not living!

Great play on words

 

[beachgurl]

Thanks everyone, the property is in Brisbane and is currently vacant.

 

[Ed Barton]

Great play on words

Typos, and auto correct can be quite amusing. I've fallen pray to pubic housing more than once.

 

[C-mac]

I'm in the same boat. Have a Sydney (Parramatta) property that the tenants will be vacating Nov 11th. Gotta get in there and guerilla reno the s*** out of it asap and hopefully list by Dec 1st.

That said, my sales agents' feedback in selling in this particular area around Xmas was that it won't make a difference. Apparently my two core 'target markets' for my property type and area are 'Chinese investors and young Indian families', both of which (in his words) 'couldn't care less about christmas'.

I just want it sold for top dollar prior to the Sydney boom ending (and especially prior, for Parramatta, local buyers start thinking 'perhaps I should wait until those new towers are done, 400m down the road from your unit'...). I need maximum sale price for this one more than any others as I'm leveraging that magical '6-year tax rule', which my property will be on the cusp of, just prior to sale time.

 

[Hypnotic Cat]

December last year I was actively looking for a home to purchase. The fact it was Christmas barely registered for me. I was making offers and looking at properties the day before and the day after Christmas. From this buyer's perspective it matters little.

 

[zimby]

Having bought a couple of times around Christmas it's not my preferred time as you need to keep a close eye on each party involved to minimize any delays.

 

[Nemo30]

I bought one a few years ago with settlement the week before xmas - this suited me perfectly as I was able to use my xmas leave to do some work on the property. It was ready to rent at the peak time of the year.

 

[Tillie]

We sold a house in Xmas Eve about 10 years ago. Originally we were planning to list the property after Xmas, but REA asked if she can take some potential (desparate) buyers through the house privately before Xmas. One couple fell in love with the place and offerred more than our asking price, so the house was sold.

It turned out that they had already sold and became desparate to secure something before Xmas.