Sydney home seekers given rare window to get property for cheaper
The Ray White analysis measured the average prices achieved in each month of the year over the past decade, relative to sales across the rest of the year, to determine the best time to buy and sell in each suburb.
Autumn was generally the best time to be a seller, while summer tended to favour buyers, but there were also multiple markets where winter conditions put buyers in the driver's seat.
This included 127 Sydney suburbs – about one in seven of the total areas across the city – where July purchasers typically paid the lowest prices each year, largely because of a lack of buyer competition.
Many of these suburbs were among the most popular areas in Sydney for people to buy a home, such as Castle Hill, Blacktown, Greystanes and Epping, according to the Ray White Economics data.
Other notable suburbs were Randwick, Bondi Junction and Paddington, in the east, plus Avalon Beach and Newport, on the northern beaches, and southwest hub Liverpool.
The seasonal lower prices in these areas could be compounded with a high chance of another interest rate cut over July, which is expected to ramp up competition for listings in the proceeding months.
Those who get in before the resurgence of buyer activity may be rewarded with a lower price and a sharp gain in equity, housing experts said.
Mortgage Choice Epping broker Richard Brown said recent interest rate cuts are yet to fully filter through to the market and high pre-approval numbers for loans suggested many more buyers would be storming the market soon.
'Right now, the main thing cuts in interest rates are doing is improving confidence,' he said. 'Those who were already planning to buy have a lot more certainty.
'They know whatever they pay, they can factor in a few more cuts, and that's pushing up prices.
'But a lot more buyers will bring forward their plans to purchase when there is another cut or two. That's when the real boost will come and buyers are best off trying to get ahead of that.'
Economist and buyer's agent Rich Harvey of Propertybuyer said sellers were best off timing their sales for autumn, not spring – which has traditionally been the preferred time of year for most homeowners to sell.
'It's a basic supply and demand principle,' he said. 'There's more supply during spring but during autumn there is less competition between sellers.
'Spring actually favours buyers. And even as you get to the end of the year, you can often get very good deals because Christmas creates this artificial deadline for sales, but it could be different this year.
'We have already had two rate cuts, and one is locked in for July. Demand is picking up and it will mean more competition and constricted supply. Buyers who wait till December may pay a higher price.'
Recent home buyers Richy Quinn and wife Eliana said they noticed an instant change when rate cuts were announced midway through their six month search for a property.
'There was more competition,' Mr Quinn said. 'It actually became a big motivation for us to buy quickly.'
He added that a property similar to the Balmain home they bought in June recently sold for $90,000 more than the price they paid.
'We figured it was better to buy sooner rather than later, before it gets more competitive, and it looks it was the right decision.'
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