The coming winter months offer the best opportunity for people wanting to enter the housing market. During the period June to August each year the number of properties sales traditionally decline as fewer property buyers tend to look for homes during the winter months.

Similar to the rental market, most people favour moving to a new home during the spring and summer months rather than during the winter months. The winter months offer a definite window of opportunity for the many thousands of first home buyer and investors who have found it difficult to secure a home over the past six months.

It is a truism that the best day to attend a home open is when it is pouring with rain because bad weather or even major sporting events can significantly reduce the number of property buyers attending a property inspection.

Areas that may offer the best opportunity for property buyers are second and third tier coastal areas because sales activity in the coastal real estate market tends to be quieter during the winter months compared to more inland suburbs. Astute property buyers should check the newspapers and internet each week to determine which suburbs have the greatest number of properties for sale. The more properties there are for sale in a suburb, the greater will be the competition between sellers.

In particular, property buyers should look for homes that may be currently rented and are being sold by the investor landlords to coincide with the start of the new financial year.

Some of these properties may not have been properly maintained by the landlord and may offer astute home buyers a low cost entry into the housing market. Property buyers should also make sure that they have pre-approval finance before they make an offer on a property. Pre-approval finance strengths the negotiating position of the seller. 

You should also make sure that your first offer is your best offer. During this research phase, you can use the Internet to obtain a property price check report to help gauge your offer amount. 

In addition, many real estate agents sites offer free downloads which include handy hints and tips for buying property. Utilise all this free information to assist you in your decision making process.