If you’ve been thinking about downsizing, now is the time

Despite suggestions that Boomers could face problems when downsizing, the next twelve months is shaping up to be a prime time for downsizing, with empty-nesters across New South Wales leading the charge.

Angus Raine, executive chairman at Raine & Horne said that 2020 will see a surge of boomers take advantage of the competitive market and finally go ahead with their plans to downsize.

“The key indicators favour downsizers in many Sydney markets with the number of properties for sale as much as 10 to 20 per cent fewer than this time last year, while many suburbs are achieving auction clearance rates of close to 80 per cent,” Mr Raine said.

“Meanwhile, buyer demand is up by as much as 30 per cent in some Sydney suburbs, while average Sydney property values have increased by 6.2 per cent over the last quarter.

“With this fantastic mix of positive news, there’s an excellent opportunity for downsizers who have put their plans on hold for the last three years to find a buyer and shift to a smaller property in 2020.”

Mr Raine said some empty-nesters had the potential to “free up significant seven-figure sums”.

“There’s a huge amount of demand, and 2020 is the year for downsizers, whether they live in Sydney or the bush to take advantage,” he said.

But it’s not just Sydney and NSW reaping the benefits, with ample opportunity available for downsizers across the country.

“Downsizers from Sydney were a large percentage of the buyers in our market in 2019,” Graham Cockerill, Principal of Raine & Horne Hervey Bay said. “These older buyers drove demand for recently built three-bedroom houses on smaller blocks in Hervey Bay, Urraween and the surrounding suburbs priced between $350,000 -$450,000. Despite their smaller sizes, the blocks still have enough room to park a caravan.”

Meanwhile, Adelaide is expected to build on what was a successful end to 2019, according to James Trimble, Raine & Horne General Manager.

“October was a massive month for transactions, and this fantastic result has set the Adelaide market for a very robust 2020,” he said. “The liquidity in the market is fantastic, and well-presented properties are attracting plenty of buyer interest.”