Residz Team 3 min read
For two years, house buyers have been feeling the property blues as sellers laughed all the way to the bank. The crazy pandemic-era housing market saw serious buyer FOMO with capital city property listings falling 26 per cent over a year to decade lows.(1) But, is it all about to change? Could 2022 be the year of seller FOMO?
Timing is everything when it comes to buying and selling property, as the canny early-mid 2021 sellers who timed their run perfectly will tell you.
Purchasers who acted too quickly and may now be feeling buyer’s remorse are about to be replaced by jittery sellers racing to list, who don’t want to miss the buyer frenzy which so recently saw house prices rising at their fastest rate in 17 years.(2)
Despite still-rising house prices, sellers know the clock is ticking on low interest rates, that buyers already view stand-alone houses in the capitals as unaffordable, and the peak of the market could be nigh. The giddy borrowing of 2020 and 2021 is also concerning regulators, leading APRA to crack down on the size of mortgage home buyers can get from their bank.
On top of it all you have ANZ predicting average capital city values will rise 8 per cent this year and fall 6 per cent in 2023.(3) That’s going to jolt many sellers into action, so could seller FOMO become a frenzy?
There are signals sellers are trying to catch the top of the wave, but just as buyers might be leaving the beach.
More choice for buyers is the upside of increased property listings. The downside is more choice for buyers! Buyers become a lot fussier when they don’t have to make a snap decision to beat a dozen other keen purchasers. Sellers will need to take an unemotional look at what they’re offering, and at what price.
Homes with less appeal sold just fine in 2020 and 2021, but are not going to cut the mustard this year. The hardest homes to resell have traditionally been those in unsafe neighbourhoods with high crime rates, or with a low investability score, poor access, low street appeal, odd or jarring architectural features, dated kitchens and bathrooms, and missing amenities for its price range.
But since the pandemic you can add any number of lifestyle factors that a buyer might find unappealing:
If you have a home that is less appealing than the competition, you need to get to work!
"A well-staged home can increase the sale price by roughly 25 per cent," says Justine Wilson, director and principal stylist at Vault Interiors, in an article for InsideOut on Homes to Love. "It's about creating an emotional response in the buyers….they want that lifestyle."
It’s time to go on holiday in your mind and think lifestyle as you style your house for sale!
Image: Old house for sale, E.Domingo, Wikipedia.
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