Property Sales Forecast for 2020

Recent records suggest that 2020 is shaping up to be quite a great year in terms of property sales. According to experts, Melbourne, in particular, and its property listing numbers are starting to improve since more vendors are returning to the market. This comes after the news broke out that more sellers are looking into selling their properties before the year ends. It was very evident that a lot of vendors were not as open to taking this step during Melbourne’s property downturn – judging by the numbers, it made them hesitant. Even during the early recovery phase, there hasn’t been much improvement in terms of sales because people were still on the fence about the price they could possibly get. But looks like things are looking up. According to SQM Research’s Louis Christopher, houses listed for 30 days or less in any month, were on the rise, which points to the continuing house price recovery in Melbourne. However, albeit an apparent improvement, the new listings are still considered below average. For October, Melbourne had about 15,689 listings which were slightly less than what was recorded at the same time last year with 16,351 of homes and units for sale. These figures were based on SQM Research. Since the start of the year, the research indicates that since Melbourne reached the lowest point, sales have improved immensely. As I have previously mentioned in my blogs, Australia had experienced a 10 percent plunge starting the end of 2017 and because of this, sellers have become uncertain about selling their property. There are two primary reasons for this: one is because of the “property-related tax incentives” leading up to the May federal election. There was also still the matter involving the royal commission into banking, wherein stricter lending requirements were imposed to ensure transparency and honesty among borrowers. By June, house prices in Melbourne started to pick up, but the listings took a long time to improve. After the wait and see period, some of the sellers were able to get a better sale price because although the new listing numbers were down, the overall listings were affected positively that’s why it was higher because previous ones had stayed on the market longer. SO WHY WAS THE SUDDEN CHANGE OF HEART AMONG VENDORS? There was less competition. Because the stocks at the moment are not as many as expected, there is less competition to think about and smart vendors are taking advantage of that. Most of these vendors are also because it’s best to make that sale before the end of the year. According to market experts, February and March next year will for sure increase in listings so vendors want to make sure to get a better deal in their properties. Additionally, experts think that it is highly likely that prices will continue to increase next year, and if this goes on, new listings will also rise in 2020.