Agents have reported long lines of home seekers at the first open homes of the year and said this was largely due to a shortage of stock and a spike in buyer demand. The low listings environment would give current sellers an edge in price negotiations.My Housing Market economist Andrew Wilson said homeowners who listed later in the year may not be in as strong a position because it was likely more rival sellers would be active.
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“There will be more sellers as the market rises. There could be a situation where prices grow rapidly over the first half of the year but start to flatten at the end of the year,” Mr Wilson said. He added that much of the uncertainty about the impact of COVID-19 had vanished from the market. This would embolden more homeowners to list this year and eventually current stock shortages would cease, Mr Wilson said.

For now, buyers continued to outnumber listings and much of Sydney could be considered a seller’s market, Mr Wilson said.McGrath-Coogee agent Nick Wise said attendance at open homes was “incredible” this month. “(Buyers) understand it’s going to be a strong year for real estate. They want to get in early,” he said.Open home numbers have been particularly high in Sydney’s inner west, with nearly 300 people swarming into two open homes in the suburb of Earlwood last Saturday.Ray White auctioneer Alex Pattaro said these numbers hadn’t been seen in the area for close to 20 years. “Usually we’d get 20, maybe 30 coming to an open,” he said. “People are ready to buy. There’s very limited stock, few quality homes.”

Adrian William director Adrian Tsavalas said many of the house hunters intending open homes were “New Year’s resolution buyers”.“This happens every year, but it’s a little earlier this year because not many people are going on holidays,” Mr Tsavalas said. The more aggressive buyers were usually those who missed out on properties late last year, he added. “We had some really strong sales at the end of 2020 and all that energy from buyers is back.”
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Agents must follow strict COVID-19 guidelines when showing buyers through homes. “The restrictions have made the process take longer but there are also just more buyers out there and that’s why we’re getting the long lines,” Mr Tsavalas said.



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