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January, often considered a quiet month for agents, may actually be the best time to promote a property, according to new data from realestate.com.au.
“During the holiday period we see more people searching while on the go and more people clicking through to view property pages,” said Arthur Charlaftis, general manager sales and operations at REA Group, owner of realestate.com.au.
“During this time people are also spending longer on our site at approximately 11 minutes per session,” he said.
“We know these people are seriously looking as over the last two years, the number of property enquiries to agents has peaked in January,” he added. “This demonstrates that people are committed to finding the right property and are prepared to look for it over summer.”
Mr Charlaftis said that advertising online over the summer period could be a good strategic move by vendors, and their agents.
While there isn’t a drop in the number of existing listings, Mr Charlaftis said there are generally less new listings in most markets, excluding some coastal and tourist-focused areas.
Moreover, agents who make themselves available during January may secure business due to their accessibility.
“On whether agents should start early [in the New Year], we know there’s a lot of buyer enquiry at this time,” Mr Charlaftis continued. “So your ability to connect with those people when competing offices may not be able to is important. Be adequately resourced to handle the enquiries.”
“If there are potential buyers looking, it’s a good opportunity to build rapport with them now before the year gets busy and establish a relationship. People often get busy at the end of the year and can’t make OFIs, so it’s important to reconnect with potential buyers that you were working with.
“The earlier you can get on to them, the more success you’re likely to have.”
Mr Charlaftis added that January may also be the ideal time to refresh existing listings.
“It’s a good time to refresh your listing as there’ll be a fresh new group of people looking who have not seen your property listing – update your pictures and copy,” he said. “This can also entice existing buyers who are still searching to take another look at your property.”
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