A Good Time to Buy Good Property

Buyers are currently enjoying having the market upper hand after the heated property market of 2025 + early 2026.  Though if you’re waiting for a better time to buy, you had better get busy now.  Sellers have already started retreating from the market to wait out the ‘soft market’, and they won’t have long to wait.

BASIC NUMBERS

After 1 July 2027, the new Capital Gains Tax rules will apply.  Property owners who want to avoid the new regime will sell prior to this date, and afterwards fewer owners will be enticed to sell, leading to more competition for fewer properties available for purchase.

However, the listing numbers are already showing a change is on the way.  Cotality data from 31 August 2026, reports new listings are running 8.2% below the five year average, and 2.0% below last year.

At the moment buyers still have the market in their favour, with total listings of 137,000.  This is 1.7% above the five year average, fortified by older listings sitting on the market for longer than the average of 21 days.

Normally, we would expect an increase in listings during Spring, and agents are reporting they have properties on the way, but it’s easy to see supply starting to dwindle.

OPPORTUNITIES AND THREATS

This means the current market presents a window of opportunity for buyers who are in the financial position to make a move.  Experienced buyers know softer markets are when the most amount of money can be made, though it’s critical to avoid the two biggest buyer traps for this type of market.

• Is that cheap or just a lemon – In slower markets, many buyers become fixated on achieving the absolute cheapest purchase price.  Not only will this lead to missing out on great purchases, but it leads buyers to fall victim to the ‘lemon’ purchase.  This occurs because during slower markets there’s a higher proportion of properties that have ‘unfixable’ issues or features that some buyers won’t be able to handle.

• Timing the market – To be fair, I see this play out in hot as well as ‘cool’ markets.  Buyers let their decisions be influenced by trying to ‘time the market’ which never works out.  It leads buyers to use the wrong information to make their decisions resulting in paying too much, waiting too long, or buying the wrong property ‘because the numbers work’. 

GREAT TIME FOR GREAT PROPERTY

The way to ‘beat the market’ is to use the appropriate buying activities and strategies for the market you’re in.  This immediately helps buyers focus on the most important property decision making criteria, rather than just ‘bagging a bargain’ or making hasty decisions for fear of missing out.

The best approach in the current market is to take action on great property.  It might be a property where the price has dropped minimally from the peak.  It might be above the suburb median, but will mean you’re actually getting a bargain compared to what you might have had to pay in the peak.

It’s these types of properties that will leap in price as soon as the market changes again (and we all know how quickly that can happen).

HOW TO SELECT GREAT PROPERTY

The most important approach is to look for property that matches your needs and targets.  Make sure you’re clear on your version of ‘a good property’ – because it’s different for everyone. For example, don’t purchase a massive renovation project if you’ve never renovated before and hate renovating.

Next, look for properties that have ‘opportunity’ embedded within them.  If you’re attracted to property that has been recently updated, expect to pay at the upper end of the price band no matter what the market is doing.

Alternatively, you’ll have the most long term success if you aim to purchase property that has plenty of uplift still to be realised.

If you’re ready for more details and want to know how to identify property that will continue to deliver no matter what the market is doing, along with the best buying approach to actually acquire it, come along to the next session of the Choose The Best Property.  More details here.