There’s a lot of talk around of falling property prices. From The Age:
The National Australia Bank residential property index, which predicts houses prices, rents and real estate market conditions over the coming year, said national home prices would drop by 1.4 per cent in the 12 months from June, reversing an earlier prediction that home values would rise 0.6 per cent in the 12 months from last March.- The Age
I’ve seen quotes from people saying that they won’t be buying now, and that they’ll be waiting until property prices start rising again. Now I can kind of understand why someone from outside the market might want to delay purchasing a first home. If prices are coming down, whether it’s 1.4 per cent or 10 per cent, then that can lower the mortgage, lower repayments, and work out well. However, they will want to watch that they don’t wait too long because then everyone waiting around to get into the market will all go together, and that will increase demand and push prices back up again.
But the point I’m trying to make is the same one as is made in the video above – that if you do want to move house, now is as good a time as any to do so. And in fact, if you do it right (choose a good agent, market well, etc) you can actually come out ahead.
You might say:
“Why would I want to sell now when prices are falling? I think I’ll wait and get myself a bargain once they’ve dropped another 15 per cent.”
That’s fine, but your current property may also drop in value by 15 per cent (or whatever it is), so you don’t come out ahead at all. Provided you buy and sell in the same market, everything is relative.
Conclusion: now is a great time to sell your home. There’s no need to hold back.