SUMMER temperatures reached record highs this year and with most people huddling indoors to escape the heat one could be forgiven for wondering if it was the best time to be selling property.
People traditionally prefer selling their homes in the warmer months, when their gardens are in full bloom their house looks its best, but selling in late autumn or winter can have its advantages.
Mainly, it means less competition from other properties, so you get more of the buyers to yourself.
And nationally, there is a far greater number of buyers pounding the pavement every
Saturday, thanks to the historic low interest rates.
It is a great time to be paying off a mortgage and plenty of people are looking to get in on the action before rates begin to rise, which is tipped to happen later this year.
With demand at an unseasonal high, sellers only need to worry about the temperatures.
This is another easy hurdle to overcome when you consider that a winter in most parts of
Australia means changing from T-shirt to jumper to head to an open house. Mild weather
has lasted much longer already than in previous years and even if the mercury plunges, the
effects are nothing like northern hemisphere countries, where snowdrifts and sub zero temperature mean it can be literally impossible to go and see a house. So, while Europeans
and Americans batten down the hatches during their cold season, Aussies just have to
contend with a bit of steam coming off the auctioneer’s gavel.
Of course, if you do decide to sell your home in the colder months, it can pay to think about
how best to present your property, to take people’s minds off the cooler clime, and grab
even more of an edge on the competition.
Decorating with heavier fabrics and throw rugs can make a home seem warm and inviting,
while the use of darker colours can add to the cosiness.
It also helps to enhance winter features, by making sure natural or gas fires are operating
throughout inspections and using mellow lighting. While in the hotter months you want to
make your home as neutral as possible, maintaining that warmth in winter might just make
a difference.
