Economist Christopher Joye – who bought his Sydney house on a previous Christmas Eve – says the festive period can be one of the best times of the year to snap up a bargain in the property market, due to the fact that any items left unsold after the December auctions are likely to be available for a reduced price.
According to Property Observer, Australian Property Monitors has recorded a 71 per cent clearance rate at Saturday auctions in Sydney, while a 65 per cent clearance rate was recorded in Melbourne.
This means a number of properties face going into the new year unsold, unless vendors can offload them for a cheaper price.
“Most vendors will want to start the new year with their property transactions completed,” insists Property Investment Professionals of Australia chair Ben Kingsley, meaning a number of homes could suddenly become much more affordable in the next few days.
A large reason for this need to offload homes in December is the fact that virtually no auctions take place in the month of January.
