Buying a home? These are Canberra's fastest-selling suburbs

An element of buzz surrounds the Canberra housing market with some homes sold in a matter of days. Price growth has been persistent and the auction market continues to provide great results.

Properties sold under the hammer tend to be transacted in an intense four-week campaign. Blink and you would miss certain sales. Under current market conditions several homes have been sold before auction day.

Selling by private treaty generally involves an entirely different time-scale. Allhomes data reveals a huge disparity between location and the average days on market. Homes in certain suburbs have a rate to sale significantly below Canberra’s average of 63 days.

The five quickest selling suburbs are in the north. The established suburb of Ainslie took the title of shortest time on market. Buyers made rapid decisions, purchasing in 35 days. This is based on the average time spent on market in the six months to the end of April with suburbs of more than 10 private treaty transactions.

Buyers did not mess around in the suburb of Gungahlin and O’Connor with a rate to sale of 37 days. Decisive buyers snapped up Dunlop homes in 38 days and 42 days in Macgregor.

It is important to remember not all Canberra suburbs performed like this.. North Canberra may have the five quickest selling suburbs but the longest time on market is also in the north. Performance ranged wildly from a mere 35 days to an average of 145 days for homes in Moncrieff.

Units appear to be lingering a little longer on the market compared with houses. Units in Turner had the quickest rate to sale spending 60 days on the market compared with Canberra’s average of 106 days. Gungahlin and Lawson units had a rate to sale of 82 days, Lyneham an average of 84 days and Narrabundah 86 days. Bear in mind that suburb performance ranged from 60 days to a whopping average of 164 days for units in Harrison.

There are a plethora of reasons setting suburb performance apart. Of course a large aspect is supply and demand.

Don’t despair – there are things to consider if your home is languishing on the market. First, reassess the asking price. To assist in determining the current price-point of your home, do comparative analysis of recent sales and enlist the help of professional advice.

Consider whether the marketing campaign has run out of steam. Prospective buyers need to be able to find your home with ease. A refreshed campaign could make all the difference. Check out other properties on the market your home is competing against – some minor adjustments could make all the difference.

Remember to take off your rose-tinted glasses. Your heart and soul may be in your current home but you need to have a well thought-out plan of attack to sell quickly.

Nicola Powell is a property expert for Allhomes. Twitter: @DocNicolaPowell