Should I Sell My House Now or Wait? Don’t Panic — Here’s What’s Really Happening in Your Local Market

Should I sell my house now, or should I wait?

If that question has been going around in your head, you are far from alone. It is one of the most common things homeowners are asking right now, and every fresh property headline only makes it louder. Prices are crashing. Prices are booming. The market has peaked. The market is about to take off.

So take a breath. The honest answer is calmer, and far more useful, than the headlines suggest. Because the people writing the headlines are usually not the people standing at your local open homes. And the market that matters most to you is not the national one. It is the one your specific property sits in, right now.

This article will not hype you up or scare you. It will show you how to read what is actually happening, so you can decide whether to sell now or wait based on evidence instead of anxiety.

The Problem With Relying on Headlines

National property commentary is useful background. It is not a decision-making tool for your home.

The people producing broad market commentary are often not attending open homes in your suburb. They are not hearing buyer objections, watching how people react to a price, tracking the quality of enquiry, or sitting in the room while offers are negotiated.

Most media coverage also reports what has already happened. By the time a trend makes the news, it may have been playing out on the ground for months. Headlines can lag behind reality.

Apps, portals, and data platforms are the same. They can show you information, and that information has value. But a platform does not run an open home, manage a nervous buyer, negotiate an offer, or protect your price. Data describes the market. It does not sell your house.

So the better question is not “What is the market doing?” The better question is: “What is happening in my specific market, for my specific property, at my specific price point, right now?”

Forecasts Can Be Wrong: The COVID Example

If you are tempted to wait because someone predicted a downturn, this is worth knowing. Big, dramatic forecasts are wrong all the time.

When the pandemic hit in 2020, many economists and major banks predicted significant property price falls. Instead, the opposite happened. Australian house prices skyrocketed more than 25 per cent in 2021 alone, and within a couple of years some of those same banks were forecasting the biggest housing crash in decades.

That is not a criticism of anyone. It is a reminder. Forecasts are educated guesses about an uncertain future, and they are regularly wrong. Deciding to sell or to wait based purely on a prediction or a dramatic headline is a risky way to plan.

Real Estate Is Made Up of Micro-Markets

There is no single property market. There are thousands of them, layered on top of each other.

You can think about it in levels:

• National markets
• State markets
• City markets
• Suburb markets
• Street-level markets
• School-zone markets
• Property-type markets
• Price-point markets

Within those, the picture splits again. Renovated homes behave differently to unrenovated ones. Family homes behave differently to units. Entry-level stock behaves differently to mid-market, and both behave differently to prestige.

One suburb can perform very differently to the suburb next door. And two homes in the same suburb can perform differently depending on presentation, pricing, position, land size, floor plan, buyer demand, and what else is competing against them at the time.

A national headline simply cannot capture any of that. The market for your home may be doing something completely different to the number in the news.

Why Auction Clearance Rates Need Context

Auction clearance rates get quoted a lot. They are not as clear-cut as they sound.

In auction-heavy markets such as Sydney and Melbourne, clearance rates can be a useful signal. In markets where auction is not the dominant method of sale, such as many parts of Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth, they tell you far less.

There is another catch worth knowing. The clearance rate reported on a Saturday night is only preliminary, and it is usually revised down a few days later once the slower results come in. A headline number on the weekend can look quite different by the following Thursday.

And a clearance rate on its own does not show you the quality of the campaign, the seller’s expectations, how deep the buyer pool was, the strength of negotiation, how well the property presented, or whether auction even suited that property in the first place. A number without context can mislead more than it informs.

The Local Indicators That Actually Matter

If you want to understand your local market, look at local, property-specific evidence. This is the information that actually reflects what buyers are doing:

• Days on market for comparable homes
• List price versus final sale price
• How many competing properties are on the market right now
• How many comparable properties have sold in the suburb over the past 12 months
• Buyer enquiry levels over the past 30 days
• Inspection numbers
• Repeat buyer activity
• Offer strength
• Price reductions appearing in the area
• Local stock levels
• Supply versus demand
• Whether similar properties are selling quickly or sitting
• Whether buyers are becoming more cautious or more competitive

None of this comes from a national headline. It comes from being active in your market every week.

Supply and Demand: The Simple Force Behind Price Movement

Strip everything back and most of it comes down to one principle almost everyone already understands.

When there is oversupply and weak demand, prices come under pressure. When supply is limited and demand is strong, prices generally hold firm or rise. As long as a genuine shortage of stock persists, prices tend to keep heading in one direction.

That is the clearest way to read what is really driving your local market. Before you react to any headline, ask a simpler question: in my suburb, for my type of property, is there more demand than supply, or more supply than demand?

It is also worth remembering what moves demand in the first place. Interest rate rises, changes to borrowing capacity, bank lending policy, elections, global events, confidence, and affordability all shift buyer behaviour. A buyer who can afford your home this month may not be able to afford it next month if lending conditions tighten. These factors can change the buyer pool quickly.

Why Emotional Reactions Can Cost Sellers Money

Panic is expensive.

When sellers react emotionally to headlines, they tend to make avoidable mistakes. They delay when they shouldn’t. They rush to market without proper preparation. They reduce the price too early. They choose the wrong method of sale. They misread normal buyer feedback as a bad sign.

It is very common to see activity pause for a few weeks around an election or an interest rate announcement, while people wait to see if the sky is falling. Then they realise it isn’t, and activity picks up again.

The answer is not to ignore the market. It is to stay calm and get informed early. Don’t panic, but don’t bury your head either.

Why the Right Agent Should Understand Local Data and Transactional Leakage

When you choose an agent, look for one who can clearly demonstrate and explain your local market, not just quote you national headlines.

A strong agent should be able to show you what is happening with similar properties, buyer demand, stock levels, days on market, price movement, and the quality of enquiry. If an agent can only talk in broad generalisations, they may not be close enough to your market to protect your result.

There is a second thing a good agent understands, and most sellers have never heard of it. It is called transactional leakage.

Transactional leakage describes all the points between your first conversation and the sold sticker going on the sign where value can quietly slip away. It can happen through poor preparation, weak pricing strategy, poor presentation, bad timing, poor buyer management, weak negotiation, the wrong method of sale, poor follow-up, lack of competition, or mishandling the conditions near the end of the deal.

This matters because getting your property listed is not the finish line. Even a campaign that starts well can lose value during negotiation, contract conditions, buyer follow-up, or the final stages before settlement. You want an agent who knows exactly where money tends to leak out of a transaction, and how to plug those gaps.

How We Address This at Gold Coast Real Estate Agents

This is exactly the work we do before you ever feel pressured to make a decision.

We sit down and show you the real numbers for your suburb and your property type, not a national headline. Days on market, list price versus sale price, current competing stock, recent comparable sales, and the quality of buyer enquiry over the past month. You see what is actually happening, in plain English.

We also walk you through every point where value can leak out of a sale, from the first conversation right through to settlement, and exactly how we protect your price at each stage. The goal is simple. You make a calm, informed decision about whether to sell now or wait, based on evidence, with someone who is in your market every single week.

Our No Lock-In Guarantee

Here is something we feel strongly about. You should stay with an agent because you want to, not because a contract traps you.

Many agencies hold sellers to a 90-day exclusive agreement, whether the relationship is working or not. We do things differently. Even on a 90-day exclusive, we offer a no lock-in guarantee. If we are not doing our job, you are free to walk away. We do not expect your trust. We are happy to earn it.

That guarantee changes the entire relationship. It keeps us accountable from day one, and it means every piece of advice we give you is about your result, not about protecting a contract.

The Bottom Line: Get Informed, Ask Better Questions, Decide on Evidence

Headlines are written to be read, not to sell your home. They can make you nervous, but they cannot tell you what is happening in your suburb, for your property, at your price point, today.

So don’t panic. Get informed. Ask better questions. Decide whether to sell now or wait based on local evidence rather than national noise.

If you are thinking about selling, even if it is still months away, the smartest first step is to understand your local market, your likely buyer pool, and the points in the process where value can either be protected or lost. And if you are unsure about your choice of agent, ask them one simple question: will you hold me to a lock-in contract, or will you earn the right to keep working with me?

Frequently Asked Questions

Should I sell my house now or wait?

Headlines should not be your trigger either way. Base the decision on local evidence such as comparable sales, days on market, current stock levels, and buyer enquiry over the past 30 days for your property type. That tells you far more than any national figure about whether now suits your situation.

Is the property market about to crash?

Nobody can promise what any market will do, but it is worth knowing how often crash predictions miss. Forecasters warned of falls during COVID, yet prices skyrocketed more than 25 per cent in 2021 alone. A genuine crash usually needs weak demand and an oversupply of stock at the same time. Rather than reacting to a headline, look at supply and demand for your specific property type in your suburb.

Why can’t auction clearance rates tell me what my home is worth?

Clearance rates are most meaningful in auction-dominant markets like Sydney and Melbourne, and far less so where private treaty leads. The figures reported each weekend are also preliminary and are usually revised once all results are in. On their own, they say nothing about campaign quality, buyer depth, presentation, or whether auction even suited the property.

What local data should I ask an agent to show me?

Ask to see days on market for comparable homes, list price versus final sale price, how many similar properties are competing right now, how many have sold in the suburb over the past year, buyer enquiry over the last 30 days, inspection numbers, and where prices are being reduced. A local agent should have this at their fingertips.

What is transactional leakage?

It is the quiet loss of value at any point between your first conversation with an agent and settlement. It can come from poor preparation, weak pricing, poor presentation, bad timing, weak negotiation, the wrong method of sale, or mishandling conditions late in the deal. Listing the property is not the finish line; value can still leak out right up to settlement.

What is a no lock-in guarantee and why does it matter?

It means you are not trapped in your agreement if the relationship is not working, even on a 90-day exclusive. It matters because it keeps your agent accountable and ensures their advice is about your result, not about protecting a contract. You stay because you want to, not because you have to.

Disclaimer: This article is general information to help homeowners make calm, informed decisions, not financial or legal advice, and it does not invent market data or predict outcomes for any individual property. At Gold Coast Real Estate Agents we clearly address and explain everything mentioned here in person, using your own local numbers, and we back it with a no lock-in guarantee so you only ever stay with us because you choose to.