Is now the time to sell your property?

Are you considering selling and wondering when the best time to sell your property would be?

When making this decision, there are a number of factors that need to be taken into consideration.

Here we look at the current economic environment and market conditions and consider three factors that may help you make this decision.

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1. Hardship

When COVID hit in March, the Australian Banking Association offered six-month mortgage holidays to home-owners unable to make mortgage repayments.

Now, nearly six months later, lenders are encouraging home-owners to restart their mortgage payments as the loan deferral period nears the end.

However, with Australia now officially in its first recession in almost 30 years after GDP numbers for the June quarter showed the economy declined by seven percent (as reported by the ABC), the reality is, the unemployment rate is unexpected to return to pre-COVID levels meaning many home-owners who lost their jobs may not be in a position to repay their mortgages.

For those struggling, the mortgage holiday period has been extended until January 2021 but for some home-owners, this is only putting off the inevitable.

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2. House prices

For months, it has been reported house prices are expected to fall due to the current economic environment.

In reality, they have but not as low as they were first predicted.

According to Westpac’s economic team, house prices have fallen 2.3 percent and will now bottom out before bouncing 15 percent.

In an article published on Westpac, the previously expected fall in national house prices was 10 percent but chief economist Bill Evans lowered the expected slump to five percent.

While Westpac reports Bill Evans and senior economist Matthew Hassan predict a national house price “surge” of 15 percent, 7.5 percent per year until mid-2023, it’s not going to be a straightforward jump.

It is expected to cycle through further low-interest rates improving affordability, a “selling pressure” as a result of downward price trends and distressed sales before prices lift after the “selling pressure” works through the system.

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3. Interest rates

After holding the official cash rate at 0.25 percent for the sixth straight month in early September, the RBA is expected to keep rates on hold until the current government benefits stop fully in March 2021, Real Estate Business reports.

The RBA also stated until the economy approaches full employment and it is confident inflation stability will remain in the two to three percent rage, it will leave the cash rate at effectively zero.

And with low-interest rates comes more interest in house purchases. And reportedly, the current demand for property is at a record high.

Couple this with the new three-year fixed mortgage rate at an average 2.3 percent, the lowest ever, according to the latest RBA data.