It’s nearly Christmas (and your buying window’s about to shut)
Thanks for the lovely messages and great feedback off the back of last week’s newsletter. Back to business, and buying property though…
Your Last Chance Before Christmas: What You Need to Know
It’s hard to believe we’re already at that time of year when on-market listings begin to slow. This week & next week mark the final “launch” weeks for new properties hitting Real Estate and Domain before the Christmas period.
And yes you might not want to hear this but we’re now officially 60 days away from Christmas!
In Sydney, most online listings run a four-week campaign, so agents launch now to give themselves time to run the full marketing period and leave a small buffer if things don’t go exactly to plan. Sure, there’ll still be a few listings that trickle through after this week, but if you’ve been waiting for “more stock,” this is your sign don’t keep waiting.
If you haven’t found something you love yet, or just haven’t been able to secure it, and you want to buy before the end of the year, here are three things you can do to improve your chances:
1. Watch properties just above your budget
Keep a close eye on listings that are slightly out of reach right now. If they don’t sell in November, many vendors start to reconsider their price as the end of the year approaches.
Last year, I helped a client save $200,000 off the asking price by striking just before Christmas. You can read that story here: Enmore Property Negotiation
2. Make yourself known but don’t get played
Get in touch with the agents who regularly sell the kind of property you want in your preferred areas. Make sure they know you’re ready to buy before Christmas serious buyers are often first to hear about quiet listings or price reductions.
That said, be mindful that some agents will see your end-of-year urgency as an opportunity to push an overpriced property your way. Don’t let eagerness cloud your judgment do your due diligence and make sure what you’re looking at is actually worth it.
This is where having an experienced eye or someone objective on your side really helps. The last thing you want is to rush in and end up with an overpriced lemon that’s been sitting unsold for a reason.
3. Work with a Buyer’s Agent (even if it’s not me!)
This isn’t self-promotion as I’m not taking on new clients until 2026 — but it’s worth noting that Buyer’s Agents often get access to pre-market properties in November and December. These are homes being prepped for January or February launches, and they can be incredible opportunities.
Last Christmas Eve, I exchanged for a lovely young couple on a 2 bed, 2 bath, 1 car unit in Bondi for under $1.3m. A property that was scheduled to come to market in February 2026. Since then, 23 similar Bondi units have sold, and not one has gone for under $1.3M. Read the full Bondi story here
And just to be clear the market doesn’t “close” in January
A common misconception among buyers is that the property market shuts down over summer. It doesn’t! There are definitely still properties that come online in January, and in fact, Boxing Day is one of the busiest days for property browsing in Australia.
However, very few owners actually choose to sell in January. Most prefer to wait for the new year to settle, gauge buyer demand, and launch once people are back from holidays. So while you might see some new listings pop up, the real surge in sales activity typically happens in February.
If you’ve been feeling like the year is slipping away, take heart the next few weeks are full of opportunity. The key is knowing when to act, when to hold, and when to move at lightning speed to secure an opportunity.
