Crucial to select a confident realistic agent in tougher 2019 property market

Many discretionary vendors don't think it is quite the right time to test the market in the emerging few months of 2019.

But the early bird 2019 vendors have actually done okay, with less competition on the Saturday auction scene.

We have had two weekends with the preliminary Sydney clearance rate sitting nice in the 50s.

The boss of Ray White Brian White wasn't surprised has he'd sensed buyers are looking for opportunities in the markets that have been hardest hit by the recent adjustment. 

Agents had been noticing since early January that the numbers of attendees at their open for inspections were well up on the same time last year, which gave them some confidence.

Ofcourse inspection numbers are just one indicator, getting hands up at auction quite another feat.

All the negative headlines - sometimes validated by chats among friends and family around the backyard summer bbqs - do have the capacity to undermine our collective psyche.

The early 2019 auction volumes are low, and therefore harder to read in market direction, but there is a possibility some would-be buyers have said enough, and are happy to buy.

February auction clearance rates are always much stronger than where the prior year left off. 

Last December auctions saw a fatigued 40 per cent clearance rate, according to CoreLogic.

The auction success rate had declined through the year having opened 2018 with a 64 percent February clearance rate.

Through the years there have been big new year rebounds. 

There was a huge turnaround coming out of the global financial crisis over summer with the December 2008 success rate being 42 percent but 63 percent in February 2009.

Confident starts after the summer break are or course no guarantee that the entire year remains strong.

Especially as while the new listings around Sydney in the past 28 days are down by around 22 percent on last year, there are very high levels of unsold auction and private treaty stock left over from last year that might be a weight on the 2019 market.

CoreLogic calculate unsold Sydney stock left over from last year sitting now at 27,000 or so, which is up 15 percent on last February's 23,000 offerings, meaning much more choice for buyers than this time last year.

It was at 19,000 listings in February two years ago.

We don't know the bone fides of all these vendors, and some are just there as window displays for estate agents keen to use dormant listings as a means to attract bites.

Vendors do need to be aware that the market is far tougher, even for the most experienced of agents.

The average private treaty is seeing an 8.7 percent discount on asking price before any house sale, and 8.8 percent for apartments.

This time last year it was required 5.7 percent discount on asking price before any house sale, and 5 percent for apartments.

Attuned pricing is more important than ever if vendors want to get a quick decent sale.

Getting wise counsel on the asking price or likely reserve price for an auction is crucial when thinking of just which agent and which sale process best suits your home.

Don't necessarily automatically pick the agent who suggests they'll get the highest price.

Ofcourse go with a confident realistic agent, but ensure your agent selection process includes getting prospective agents to advise on their recent sales and listings.

And ask just where the prices began with these marketing campaigns.

This article was first published in the Saturday Telegraph.