Australians certainly don’t look like they’ll be giving up on their dreams of home ownership this winter, with buyer demand expected to remain strong through the cooler months.

The Australian real estate market usually experiences a slowdown over winter. That’s because some sellers choose to hold off until spring to list in the belief that their properties will present better when the flowers are blooming and that there are more active buyers at this time of year also.

But considering there are a lot of strong fundamentals in place for the property market right now, there’s little chance that it will be taking a break.

In fact, it may be one of the most active winter markets that the country has seen for a long time, especially considering interest rates are still crazy low and there is a strong feeling of FOMO (fear of missing out) out there.

While there are some sellers who will still choose to hold off on putting their property up for sale until the weather warms up, solid buyer demand will remain and that might actually increase pressure in the market.

There might be some very quick sales with strong results simply because there will be a lot of buyers out there vying for the limited number of properties available.

This of course means that if you have been thinking of selling but were going to hold off until spring then you might actually do better by selling over July/August, rather
than waiting until September when buyers will have fewer properties to choose from.

But unless there’s a drastic change in market conditions, such as a change in lending conditions or a major national or international event, the property market doesn’t look like it will be slowing down anytime soon.

Most economists are in agreement that property prices will continue to rise for the rest of this year and into the next, with ANZ predicting that national house prices will rise by 17% in 2021, before slowing to 6% in 2022.

Tips for buyers hoping to get into the property market over winter:

1. Check property listings everyday, or you might miss out
2. Get on the databases of local agents
3. Arrange pre-approval so you know how much you have to spend
4. Attend as many open homes as you can to get on the ground knowledge of the market
5. Be ready to pounce