Greetings and welcome to a new year filled with possibilities for all those with property-related plans for the coming twelve months.
Perhaps the most important message I can provide as we come out of the holiday period is that we are now in a time of year that is widely misunderstood by many Victorians. The start of each year is a time when good sales results occur far more regularly than people realise, as it is a season when all the frustrated buyers who missed out in the final part of last year, (and believe me there are a lot of those), are joined by a group of fresh buyers who have made the decision over the festive break that now is the time to push ahead with their own plans. When you add in the seasonal shortage of new listings hitting the market, you can see how competitive the buying market can become in January.
From a longer-term perspective, we are expecting the outlook on interest rates to become more positive as the year goes by. At this stage it’s hard to forecast when they will start dropping, but it seems likely that last year’s talk of interest rate rises will become more of a conversation about “when they will start dropping” the further the year progresses.
Our expectation is that competition will be strong between buyers, particularly in the first quarter of the year, with an extra level of stability adding more certainty to the picture for vendors. Based on the backlog of buyer interest that was unmet at the end of 2023, we are anticipating that there will be no shortage of buyer interest this Summer, making it an excellent time to be a seller.
This situation will, however, create some issues for buyers, particularly those looking to purchase in high demand areas and property categories. So be sure to reach out to our Buyer Advocates as early as possible if you are keen to secure the right property at the right price without unnecessary stress.
In summary, I am seeing the coming year as a good time to leave the uncertainty of the past few years behind and to move forward with all your property plans. So if you would like to discuss your options with one of the team from Reid Buyer and Vendor Advocates, don’t hesitate to give us a call on 9430 0000.
Stay safe, and don’t forget the sunscreen!
Best wishes,
Ben Reid
06/12/2024 
