Despite feeling the brunt of the winter chill, auction activity is expected to remain resilient with an upswing in spring, RP Data research analyst Tim Lawless has said.

“We would expect that auction clearance rates will remain at similar levels to those currently being recorded through July and August,” Mr Lawless told The Adviser.

Mr Lawless said despite the fact that clearance rates have been trending downwards, the number of auctions taking place has been “remarkably resilient”.

Nevertheless, Mr Lawless expects the number of properties being taken to auction will begin to fall in response to the fact that fewer properties are selling at auction.

“[There’s a] general notion that the market is quieter during winter,” he said.

According to Mr Lawless, the performance of auction markets over the next six months will largely be impacted by the performance of the economy as a whole.

“We expect that the spring selling season should bring an increase in the volume of auctions after the expected slowdown through July and August,” he said.

However, he said buyers will continue to remain cautious.

“The spring selling season is also likely to record some improvement in auction clearance rates however, given the overall state of the economy and the fact that property value growth has been so strong over the last 12-15 months, I would not expect clearance rates to reach the heights recorded during last year’s spring or those recorded earlier in 2010,” he said.

“Any lift in clearance rates during spring is likely to be most recognisable in Sydney and Canberra.”

(By: Belinda Luc, Friday, 09 July 2010)

From: The Adviser 30/6/10

Spring no longer represents the best time to sell, according to RP Data.

New research from RP Data has found evidence to suggest that a great number of listings does not necessarily convert into a great number of sales.

RP Data’s research analyst Cameron Kusher found that, on a national basis, March is in fact the busiest month for house and unit sales.

Nationally over the last 10 years, March accounted for circa 9.3 per cent of all dwelling transactions.

“Despite the fact that March is the busiest month for sales, the results show that there is minimal fluctuation in sales activity except within December and January when sales volumes fall away considerably,” Mr Kusher said.

“Clearly once everything starts to settle down after year-end festive periods, the attention turns back to the property market resulting in strong sales volumes during March.”

According to Mr Kusher, May is the second busiest month for sales, accounting for almost 9.2 per cent of all transactions.

The results also confirm that spring is only the second busiest season for purchasers with autumn attracting 26.6 per cent of all sales compared to: 25.4 per cent in spring, 25.3 per cent in winter and 22.7 per cent during summer.

Mr Kusher said that although there is a ramping up in listings from August through to November, the increase in listings is not matched in sales activity. The strongest increase in sales activity is recorded between January and March each year at which time listings also ramp up.

With the property market heating up, we are seeing quite a few buyers pipped at the post. The G Word (Gazump) is popping up again, and people are not sure what just hit them.

What does Gazumped mean?

Being Gazumped occurs when you verbally agree to buy a property, and then the seller (vendor) talks to someone else behind your back and sells to them, usually at a higher price. The next thing you find out is the vendor has exchanged contracts with someone else and you have lost the property.

But what about all that emotional energy, time & hundreds of dollars spent on pest inspections reports, solicitor costs, building reports,  and moving plans? For those who have experienced this in recent weeks, we are certain you will not let it happen again.

What can you do to beat gazumping?

Exchanging contracts is the only way to beat gazumping. Unfortunately, a sale ain’t a sale until contracts are exchanged. English property laws dating back to 1677 require a binding agreement to be an “exchange of contracts”. The only exception is an auction whereby the highest bidder is bound to purchase the property after the auction.

What Can I Do NOW to Prepare for a quick property purchase?

The best thing to do is build a team of professionals ready for the big moment. They have done this 1000′s of times versus your 2 or 3 transactions, so make sure you leverage from their experience.

Here is a list of people to have on speed dial in your mobile phone:

* Accountant - know which name you are going to buy the property in, or what structure.

* Mortgage Broker – obtain solid finance approvals (learn the difference between pre-approvals, conditional approvals and final approvals).  Find out your borrowing capacity.

* Solicitor or conveyance – They will read the contract for you and advise you on legal dscisions. ask the agent to send the contract as soon as possible to your solicitor, and have them in advise you through the “exchange” process. Also, know when you can use a cooling off period to give you more time to get prepared.

* Pest Inspector and Building Inspector - Apart from having guys crawl over the property for cracks and critters, find other consultants to check anything else that is flagged in the contract i.e. flood zoning, bushfire zones, heritage consultant, RTA reports for future roads through your house, conservation areas, mining subsidence, powerlines. There are consultants in every field to help you check out your property.

If you need help finding these people, call Plan Assist on 02 9449 2333 and find out who we recommend. We have a full list of consultants in any field.