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Throughout the peaks and valleys of the market, over the past nine years, one month has shown to deliver higher property prices for sellers than during the rest of the year.
Whether by accident or intention, November sellers have been revealed as the nation’s savviest, as new data shows they get the most for their homes.
According to research from PropTrack, which looked at property prices from 2013 to 2022, November has been proven to be the best time to sell, with sellers achieving prices 0.8 per cent higher than average during the peak of spring.
For a property that trades for $800,000, or roughly the average dwelling price, this represents $6,000 in higher returns for sellers.
While spring is frequently cited as the best time to sell, which gives rise to an often-frantic selling season as the weather warms, PropTrack reported that outside of the spring months, March is another month that pays rewards to vendors.
This tracks with buyer behaviour, as November and March are the months that typically see the highest number of home hunters active in the market.
The lowest seasonal prices are generally recorded in June and July, when the market is typically quieter.
But the best time to sell varies from city to city, with Perth and the ACT sticking to November as the highest achieving month, with an average price difference of +1.39 per cent and +1.65 per cent respectively.
Melbourne and Brisbane prove to be faster out the spring gate, however, with October being the month where property prices are highest across the two cities. In Melbourne, that amounts to an advantage of +1.14 per cent, while Brisbane’s benefit is marginal at +0.52 per cent.
The autumn months reign supreme across the rest of the country’s capitals, with March being the best time to sell in Sydney, when homes generally go for +0.85 per cent more. Darwin also favours March, with a whopping +2.85 per cent increase.
Adelaide is the only city where April comes out on top, with sale prices up +1.18 per cent during the month in the South Australian capital.
PropTrack’s senior economist and the report’s author Paul Ryan said that while the top month varies from state to state, all cities generally perform very highly across November, making it the best time to sell a home.
“This also coincides with the peak of the spring selling season, when buyers are out in droves,” Mr Ryan said.
He also commented that depending on the property at hand, the benefit of timing a property sale to a high-performing month could be quite substantial.
“This represents more than $6,000 on the average property sale of around $800,000 nationally, but can equate to much more for higher value homes.”
He noted that the research comes just in time for 2023’s spring selling season, and a market that has returned to strength after weathering the economic challenges of the past year.
“Home prices nationally are already back at their peak after nine months of consecutive growth. With the spring selling season underway and November – the best time to sell – approaching, it’s likely ongoing price growth combined with a seasonal boost will benefit many sellers over the next few months,” he said.
Indeed, the market appears to be ramping up for a springtime to set records. CoreLogic reported that this week will see a 10.3 per cent increase in auction activity across the nation’s combined capitals, with the following week projected to build on that growth, setting it up to be one of the busiest of the year – and that’s only as October draws to a close.
Off the back of last year’s dampened conditions, many have been tipping spring 2023 to come out in force, however the first month of the season proved strong but not overpowering as auction volumes in September actually dipped below August’s unusually high numbers.
But while September’s promise may not have quite met expectations this year, it’s not uncommon for the month to return faltering results, with a long weekend and school holidays taking precedence in the plans of many. August, in fact, has outperformed September in auction numbers during five of the past 10 years, according to PropTrack.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Juliet Helmke
Based in Sydney, Juliet Helmke has a broad range of reporting and editorial experience across the areas of business, technology, entertainment and the arts. She was formerly Senior Editor at The New York Observer.
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