Is now the time to buy?

As we hit November and our diaries start to fill up with appointments, the thought of making one of life’s major financial decisions, such as buying a property, starts to feel a bit overwhelming. We call it market fatigue and it’s something we see each and every year, although it’s stepped up a notch since COVID. It’s hard to pin down why. Are we working harder and longer? Are we making up for lost time? Or is there some lingering ill feeling from that dystopian time? I digress, but there is some strange phenomenon that has people far more on edge in recent years. Patience has eroded and the close of 2025 has many unsettled.

Putting societal psychology to the side, we often see savvy buyers pick up great deals over the weeks leading into Christmas. Sellers are realists. They see the Christmas date looming large on the calendar and want to close a sale to avoid having to consider another crack in the new year. The thought of winding down your sale only to try again in four to six weeks is an exercise in mental anguish. This in itself is a key incentive for buyers to remain alert and ready to make a play on a property before the Christmas break.

However, this year could be a different one and even better from a potential buyer’s perspective. There are other key reasons for consideration. We’re now at the back end of a long run of rate increases. Life is expensive, in fact, it’s never been more expensive to hold a Sydney property. However, it’s not just the higher rates that are smashing homeowners, it’s the higher cost-of-living, rising insurances, school fees, building costs, fuel, food - you name it. Our living standards have been pretty much eroded in this run of high inflation. Many homeowners have had a gut full and are simplifying their lives by selling their existing home and are motivated to meet the market to get a deal done.

Rate cuts are not far away though and as we’ve all been through the financial crunch this year, there is some light at the end of the tunnel. What goes up must come down. Australia and Norway are the only two advanced economies yet to cut their cash rate. The RBA’s performance over the past several years is questionable at best; however, there is high confidence that in 2025 rates will be coming down. This will fuel borrowers’ ability to increase their loan capacity, sentiment will jump, demand will improve and competition for property will likely follow. Consequently, this pre-Christmas buying window takes on more importance than previous years and is a critical reason why potential buyers should not switch off just yet.

The auction market has been hammered, with the final clearance rate over the past several weeks hovering around 43 per cent. Make no mistake, this is a poor result and highlights that the depth of the buyer pool is flaky, with the majority of sellers struggling to find a buyer in a four-week selling campaign. While certain properties are firing and delivering huge prices, most available properties are adjusting prices and there is evidence of some downward pressure on values. Once again, savvy buyers who have studied the market have seen this shift and are snapping up properties that reflect good long-term value. There is no question that this window in the market will be short-lived and we urge buyers to pay attention. If you’re in any doubt, just pan out and look at the historical performance of Sydney property and it will quickly become evident that we’re experiencing ideal buying conditions right now.