Sellers' tips: Look good on the internet
SELLING a home takes up to twice as long as it did two years ago, according to new research.
SELLING a home takes up to twice as long as it did two years ago, according to new research.
RP Data has found the time on the market for the average Australian house is 77 days and for a unit it takes about 51 days to find a buyer. This is a big jump compared with two years ago when houses took 47 days to sell and units 38.
The unwelcome news comes as sellers battle weaker house prices, with the extra time taking to sell only adding to financial pressures.
RP Data also found sellers were discounting their asking prices by about 7 per cent across the board compared with a year ago for both houses and units.
"The ongoing weakness in the housing market is likely to result in vendor discounting and time on the market remaining at above-average levels," RP Data research analyst Cameron Kusher says.
However, fewer properties for sale might help improve the situation, the researcher says. "In recent months, the amount of stock has declined and the volume of sales has stabilised, which may result in further improvements in vendor discounting and time on market," Kusher says.
Real Estate Institute of Australia president Pamela Bennett says economic uncertainty is the main reason for buyers being hesitant and properties taking longer to sell.
"Buying a home is the biggest investment most people make, so in times of uncertainty it isn't surprising they might take a bit longer to lock in a decision," Bennett says.
"Housing affordability has been showing signs of slowly improving over the past year or so but it is still well below where it was during the 1990s.
"Hopefully the recent drop in interest rates will get things moving again.
However, we suspect that, on its own, the impact will be marginal. The Federal Government needs to take a serious look at direct intervention to help with affordability."
Metropole Property managing director Michael Yardney says many buyers in the current market are also sellers.
"About 45 per cent of buyers are homeowners upgrading because of family circumstances. They need to access the equity in their home before buying the next property and many are not able to achieve the desired sale price," Yardney says.
TOP TIPS FOR A QUICK SALE
* Price your property realistically. There are buyers out there but they are price sensitive and not prepared to pay too much.
* Your property must look good on the internet where buyers first look and then also in real life when potential buyers inspect it. You want them to fall in love with your home so they buy with emotion - their heart and not their calculator.
* Market it well - you can't sell a secret! Advertise your property appropriately and have open for inspections to attract the widest range of potential buyers.
Source: Metropole Property Strategists