Do You Zig When Others Zag
DO YOU ZIG WHEN OTHERS ZAG?
That was a great line I once heard. It means, do you follow the herd or do the
opposite?
Currently the media is awash with dire predictions for the global economy and negative
stories about the Real Estate Market. It really is a hot topic of conversation
at the moment, everywhere!
As a result many people have adopted a “wait and see” approach to the market at
the moment. A lot of people are shelving plans to sell their property at the
moment because they think the market is “bad”.
I say, depending on your situation, now is the perfect time to sell!
Of course I would say that, I am a real estate agent after all, but I will explain
why.
The current conditions offer people wishing to upgrade their properties a perfect
opportunity to do so. If you sell and buy in the same market (no matter whether
it is rising or falling) you are fine. The advantage in a declining or flat
market is that if you sell first what you are looking to buy will not have
increased in value, and in fact may have fallen.
It is hard to get an accurate figure as to how much the prices have dropped in the
past 12 months but for the purposes of my example I will use 10% to demonstrate
why I believe now is a great time to upgrade.
Let’s assume you own a property and 12 months ago it was worth $500,000. You were
thinking about upgrading and the homes that suited were then $650,000. It would
have cost $150,000 (plus costs) to make the upgrade. For whatever reason you
put it off.
Fast forward to today... your $500,000 home of 12 months ago may now be worth
$450,000 (applying my 10% drop example). The great news is that the more
expensive homes you were looking at have also come back and are now worth
$585,000. The difference is now $135,000 (plus costs). You are $15,000 better
off.
That is a very broad example and only to get my point across. There are many
variables, and depending on where you are thinking of moving it may look even
more appealing.
Another fact that is largely being ignored by the media is that there are still plenty
of buyers around at the moment. Properties are still selling. buyers are
looking for value, and when it is there they flock to it.
I know the above scenario works, I did it myself when we had a big change in
2008. I sold my house for less than I would have got 12 months prior, but I
also now have my family in a lovely home that came into my range due to the
market. And most importantly, I’m happy!
As I said, this is a broad example and you must take into consideration your
current circumstances, but it could be the golden opportunity for you, like it
was for me.
My suggestion, get one of our wonderful team to came and have a chat to you about
your property goals and see if you can benefit from today’s conditions. It
might pay to get off the sidelines of the market and “get into play.”
Zig when others Zag!
Please call 07 3105 5777 for an appointment.
Craig Gillies.
