PREDICTIONS FOR 2013

This will probably be my last posting for 2012 so I will take this opportunity to thank all my clients and subscribers for their ongoing support over the past year. I wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a safe a happy holiday period and look forward to catching up with everyone in 2013.

Now on to business

Everyone is asking what my predictions are for 2013 and up until now I have tried to avoid making such predictions.

I am expecting next year to be a better market, especially with the latest official interest rate cut taking rates to a record low and the experts predicting further cuts in 2013. However, in the past interest rate cuts would have a profound effect on the property market but the effect of this round of cuts has been softened by the banks not passing them on in full. 

That being said, since the cuts last week I have noticed an increase in the level of buyer enquiry, especially in the lower end of the market.

I am starting to think (or at least hoping) that we are nearing the final stages of a buyers’ market and hopefully over the next 12 months prices are going to rise. If you are a buyer looking to get into the market, upgrade or buy an investment, now is the perfect time. With fixed interest rates in the low 5% bracket you no longer need sky high rents to make your investment pay for itself.

I won’t talk too much about statistics other than to say Auction clearance rates have been over 60% for pretty much the past 2 to 3 months which indicates some stability and confidence in the market.

I know many people at this time of year begin to make plans for the following year and one of the items on the agenda is property. Both buying and selling.

As I said earlier, if you are thinking of buying now is a great time and the low interest rates are too good to resist. 

If you are thinking of selling it may be worth your while using the holiday period to prepare your home for sale or if you are ready to sell but think you need to wait until after the holiday period then you may in fact be wrong. The holiday period presents a perfect opportunity to take a soft approach to selling your home. I find that over December and January there are still plenty of buyers around: ex-pats returning home to visit family, people from out of town looking to buy a city pad or investment or simply local buyers looking to get into the market, upgrade or downsize.

Last Christmas holiday period I sold 40% of my February 2012 listings before the end of January using this approach.