Selling in winter made a lot of sense this year
Selling in winter made a lot of sense this year, but the emerging big jump in auction numbers will shortly test the depth of the market place.
There are plenty of early birds putting their properties to auction on Saturday August 31, 2013.
Sydney has a record 500 plus vendors jumping in before spring officially starts and Melbourne has 700 plus vendors over the next two weekends, according to Australian Property Monitors.
Especially in Sydney, these numbers are substantially higher than in any recent year, with Property Obverver tracking back to winter 2008.
On the last Saturday of winter 2012 there were 300 auction offerings in Sydney and 520 in Melbourne.
On the last winter Saturday in 2011 there were 375 auctions in Sydney and 560 in Melbourne.
In 2010 there were 430 in Sydney, and with Melbourne then an auction powerhouse there were 720 offerings in Melbourne on that last August Saturday in 2010.
Sydney had 300 and Melbourne 650 listings on August 29, 2009.
Sydney had 300 and Melbourne 550 listings on August 30, 2008.
The August 31, 2013 push is, in part, a reaction of vendors seeking to avoid the clash with the September 7 federal election.
September, while the official start to the spring selling season, is a tricky month given there are the interuptions of the grand final weekend, especially in Melbourne, and also school holidays.
So yes the winter property season does bring a new set of challenges for both buyers and sellers. But winter can still present terrific opportunities to sell. And the season doesn't stop plenty of people out there looking for homes to live in.
It was mid-June this year when the sage John McGrath suggested the selling climate was "as good now as it was in autumn or will be in spring."
He was certainly spot on about the ensuing two months. But I'm not convinced will he necessarily be as right about the tail end of this spring?
