When is it the right time to sell your house in Melbourne?

Melbourne has been tearing ahead in terms of property performance lately. Already one of the best-performing cities in the country, Melbourne has recently soared to the top of the charts, outpacing Sydney in terms of year on year capital value gains by a quite significant margin.

In fact, CoreLogic RP Data tells us that Melbourne has seen value gains of 9.82 per cent since March 2015, compared to Sydney which has achieved only about three quarters of that. Meanwhile, the rest of the country seems to be falling behind as well, as not a single one hits even 5 per cent year on year gains.

With all these rapid increases in value, you might be thinking that it’s time to cash up and invest in real estate elsewhere in the city. But how do you know if your property has reached the peak of its performance?

Knowing when to sell doesn’t have to be a guessing game.

Targeting strong suburbs

An ideal place to start is looking at the performance of your suburb in the latest sales results. The most recent Pain and Gain report from CoreLogic reveals that Melbourne as a whole has had some extremely strong sales figures in the December 2015 quarter. This study measures whether a property is sold for more than it was bought for (gain) or resulted in a net loss for the vendor (pain).

Banyule (home to the Nelson Alexander Ivanhoe office) only had 1.9 per cent of sales being a ‘pain’ for the seller, while Darebin put in a solid performance as well with an overall 96.5 per cent success rate. If you have property in one of these strongly performing suburbs, these results could indicate that there is plenty of demand for properties in these areas, and it might be time to cash up and continue with your Melbourne investments elsewhere.

Know your area

One of the primary drivers of demand is nearby amenities and local infrastructure. Whether it’s retirees and students looking for public transport or families seeking out strong schools, knowing your local area is paramount for not only discovering how to market your property, but also learning whether your area has peaked.

Even the most unassuming additions could make a serious difference to the future of your suburb. Carlton, for example, is a beneficiary of a recent water supply infrastructure overhaul. This makes it easier for new businesses to enter the area as well as adding to local quality of life, joining more common community additions like schools, shops and other amenities in promoting property value growth. For zones like these, the growth may not yet be over and selling your house at this time might not be ideal.

Of course, you could take the guessing out of the equation by speaking with one of the team at Nelson Alexander and use their expert knowledge to guide your next investment.