Time to Buy

There's no time like the present.
Don't wait to buy property, Buy property and wait.

Best time to buy that I have found is when the vendor is bleeding, maimed or possibly decapitated (by the banks, family issues etc). There is nothing like a distressed sale to bring out a very attractive outcome.

But otherwise – beach suburbs in winter, seasonal property out of season (eg ski property in summer), country – in drought.

I'm guessing many people in Sydney followed this same advice during the past 3 years or so and soon found that they owed a lot more on their property than what it was worth…

In Steve's book "0 to 260+ Properties in 7 Years" he advises to sell some of your property portfolio in a downturn – certainly not to acquire more property. Debt reduction is paramount in such a situation.

Realtors will have us believing that there is no such thing as a property downturn, but i reckon Sydney is not the only place in Australia that is being set up for a downturn. A reality check is in store for the rest of the country in my opinion.

There is always going to be a plateau in certain localities after too many people have spent too much money the banks have thrown at them and then decided they want it back plus more.
There is a lot more happening in areas outside Sydney, especially at present where the big boost in our economy is being driven by minerals.
There is also ALWAYS A BARGAIN to be sought out and snapped up somewhere.
As Scott put it so eloquently, there are circumstances where an opportunity will present itself but if you are not looking you won't see it. I have often heard the figure of 3% of all properties on the market are in desperate need of  a sale. This is unfortunate and I don't wish this on anyone but once it is on the market, someone is going to benefit.
 I find that this time of year FEB, MAR to be a buyers paradise with money getting tight as a result of the plastic bills coming in after the Christmas frenzy.
There will always be circumstances which lead to it being a good time to buy but if you think the sky is falling and don't see a great deal, someone else will.

I have seen so many under-rented properties with bad tenants, work transfers, divorces illnesses etc sell for way below what they could have achieved.
If you can pick something up any time  20% under market , would you?