This year has really sped past. If the last few months are anything to go by, Christmas will be here before we know it. It’s not that far away!
If you’re a homeowner and you’d like to be in a new property or have the property you sell settled before December 25th, you don’t have much time. Whether you’re a seller needing to have the transaction completed by Christmas, or a buyer wanting to settle and be in your new place for the festive season, the window to act is closing.
Let’s take a look at why October is your deadline to make a deal happen.
The Settlement Timeline You Can’t Ignore
Because most lawyers don’t work past December 19th, you want settlement to be before that date. Otherwise you’re going to be caught in limbo for the entire festive season.
In Queensland, settlement periods usually range from 30 to 60 days. Count backwards and the deadlines are clear:
- A 60-day settlement means you need to be under contract by Monday 20 October.
- A 45-day settlement buys a little more leeway, but still locks you into mid to late October.
- Even a 30-day settlement requires a signed contract by mid-November, which pushes dangerously close to when solicitors and banks start slow down for the holidays.
That leaves little time for hesitation. A good real estate agent will get your property sold after a 20-day marketing campaign. You need to be on the market by the first day of October if you’re going to go with a 60 day settlement.
If you wait longer, you risk missing the cut-off and spending Christmas in the very house you were trying to move from.
Why Now Is the Time to Start Conversations
If you decide on a real estate agent now and sign the paperwork, there’s still work to do before you go to market. You need to prepare the property, taking care of all those little jobs you’ve been meaning to do for years. Making the place look fresh and new with a coat of paint and some TLC to the gardens. Decluttering of your possessions needs to happen. All of that takes time.
Then, professional photography and/or videography has to happen. You may want to stage your property before that with furniture, and then the marketing campaign needs to be planned out too.
All this preparation takes time, and it has to happen before buyers even start walking through the door. That means your conversations with a real estate agent need to begin right now. If they don’t, you risk rushing through things, cutting corners and missing deadlines.
If you want to host Christmas lunch in a new dining room, get in touch with The Henry Wong Team® now!
Selling? Don’t Make This Mistake
One of the biggest errors homeowners make when selling is choosing an agent with a small network. The hard truth is, they simply can’t bring the number of buyers to the table that an agent with an expansive network can.
You see, a large percentage of agents rely heavily on local buyers. That can be fine in some cases, but it limits competition. To achieve a strong result, you need buyers who hadn’t originally considered your suburb. Buyers from out of town, interstate or even overseas. These are buyers who are purely brought in by your agent – they wouldn’t have found your listing otherwise.
When your agent has a large network that they have built up over many years, they bring in buyers your average agent simply can’t. More buyers mean more competition, which pushes up the sale price of your home.
What You Should Look for in an Agent
How do you find a good agent with a big network? You want an agent whose reach extends beyond the main property portals. Realestate.com.au and Domain are useful, but every seller has access to them. What separates agents is how they market beyond those platforms.
Don’t just look at how many properties they’ve sold. Check out these other metrics too.
- Social media presence. How big are their followings on Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram? Also, do they get decent engagement on their posts? If they do, they will be getting exponential reach with their listings that agents with no social media following can’t get.
- Community and business networks. Are they involved in associations that naturally expand their circle of influence?
- Track record of bringing outside buyers. Ask directly: How many buyers have you introduced from outside the suburb in recent campaigns? Do they have strong ties with Asian communities looking to invest in Australia?
Why Wider Reach Means Better Competition
Competition drives price. If your property is only visible to local buyers, you’re only reaching people who have expressed an interest in your suburb. When you expand the reach to interstate families, professionals relocating, or buyers who hadn’t previously considered the area, the level of competition rises and interest in your home increases.
An experienced agent with a big network actively seeks out buyers through their digital platforms and professional contacts. They bring in those buyers who wouldn’t have walked through the door otherwise.
Contact The Henry Wong Team® Now If Christmas Is Your Goal
If you’re serious about being in a new home before the holidays, there’s no room for delay. To settle by 19 December, you need to be under contract by mid to late October. We need to talk now and launch as soon as possible!
Other many years of being a leading agent on the Brisbane southside, we’ve built up an expansive network of colleagues, professionals and real estate buyers whom we keep in touch with regularly. They’re always the first to hear about our listings, and sometimes we sell a home through our listing before it goes to market.
Additionally, we have large, engaged followings on the social media platforms. This includes nearly 12,000 Facebook followers and nearly 6000 LinkedIn followers.
We’re confident we will be able to leverage our network and get settlement on your property before Christmas. Get in touch today and let’s get started!
