Is South West Sydney’s market already too hot to handle?
It’s a question on the minds of hopeful homeowners looking to cash in, frenzied buyers digging to get ahead, or just about anyone wondering what their home could be worth in 2021.
There’s no doubt that the current rising trajectory of property prices has thrown any fears of an economic recession or a ‘dead’ market out the window; interest rates are rock bottom and new listings are down by 16% from this time last year – creating the perfect conditions for intense buyer competition and driving prices up even faster.
And amidst all of this, auction clearance rates are hurtling towards a 100% score – with the percentage of properties selling at auction in the Sydney region currently at 87%.
But it may come as a surprise that auction rates don’t give the full picture, nor do they account for properties sold as private treaty – or withdrawn. While they can be a great place to acquire your home, if you’ve fallen victim to thinking that auctions are the only means of scoring a great buy in 2021, this simply isn’t the case.
Looking beyond the hammer
Auctioned homes are not always the best deal for the average buyer, and if you don’t want your purchase decision to hinge on a single day or event, the good news is that there’s plenty of alternative (and equally beneficial) options.
If you’re a buyer concerned about making an expensive misstep under pressure in today’s ‘auction-frenzied’ times, it can really pay to broaden your search by considering less-obvious options such as properties not sold at auction, as well as those listed by private treaty.
The reality is that not all properties will sell at auction, and more often than not, this has nothing to do with the home.
It’s always a possibility that buyers haven’t registered to bid or have their finances fall through, that bidders hold their cards close to their chest on the day, or that reserves are set too high and vendors have to rethink their price guide. Alternatively, some vendors choose not to sell via auction at all, out of want for the privacy and flexible time of a private treaty sale.
And all of these can make for very attractive buying opportunities – especially if the property has been on the market for some time, and the vendor is motivated to negotiate the sale.
The bottom line is that in today’s heated market, auctions are by no means an end-all to buying. Get in touch with your local real estate agent, who can help you to identify suitable buying opportunities in both instances and guide you through what to expect ahead of time.
As with selling, buying can require a little more time and potentially a change in strategy if you set out to achieve the best possible outcome.
To see all of our properties for sale under private treaty as well as off-market opportunities, get in touch with your local Prudential Real Estate office below. Alternatively, visit our website to see all current listings.
Prudential Real Estate Campbelltown | (02) 4628 0033 | campbelltown@prudential.com.au
Prudential Real Estate Liverpool | (02) 9822 5999 | liverpool@prudential.com.au
Prudential Real Estate Macquarie Fields | (02) 9605 5333 | macquariefields@prudential.com.au
Prudential Real Estate Narellan | (02) 4624 4400 | narellan@prudential.com.au
