If there’s one thing 35 years in real estate has taught me, it’s that timing is everything.
As we head into 2025, we’re facing a calendar that’s more crowded than usual with market disruptors – and that means we need to be smarter about our listing strategies.
Let me be direct: if you’re planning to wait until February to start having serious conversations with your vendors about their 2025 plans, you’re already too late. Here’s why.
Next year’s calendar presents us with a perfect storm of market interruptions: Australia Day, a late Easter, Anzac Day, and a federal election.
For agents working on commission, poorly navigating these calendar obstacles could mean months of reduced income. For your vendors, it could mean missed opportunities and unnecessary stress.
The Post-Boxing Day Opportunity
While many agents are winding down for Christmas, the smartest ones are already planning their Boxing Day listings.
Why? Because while your vendors’ potential buyers are enjoying their leftover turkey, they’re also scrolling through real estate listings.
Family gatherings often spark property discussions and lifestyle changes. That Melbourne family visiting relatives on the Gold Coast? They’re probably checking local property prices between beach visits.
Don’t Fall Into the February Trap
I often hear agents say they’ll “start fresh in February.”
But let’s think this through: If you wait until February to start conversations with vendors, then factor in preparation time, you’re pushing listings into March.
Then you hit Easter (which is late in 2025), followed by Anzac Day, and then the Federal Election.
Suddenly, you’re looking at June before you have a clear run at the market. That’s half a year of interrupted selling opportunities.
Election Year Reality Check
While elections traditionally cause market hesitation, ask yourself this: has any election in the last 40 years fundamentally changed the fact that people need to buy and sell property?
The reality is that between now and the election, someone will need to sell, and someone will need to buy.
Our job is to focus on those necessities rather than the political noise.
Your Action Plan for 2025
- Start Vendor Conversations Now
- Review your current listing book
- Identify vendors who might benefit from early 2025 listings
- Have frank discussions about the calendar challenges ahead
- Strategic Listing Timing
- Push for Boxing Day listings to capture holiday browsers
- Target early February auctions before the calendar gets crowded
- Create clear timelines that avoid major calendar disruptions
- Buyer Management
- Keep your buyer database active through the holiday period
- Use the January window when competition is lower
- Set realistic expectations about market timing
- Calendar Blocking
- Mark out all the key dates that will impact your market
- Plan your auction schedule to avoid major events
- Create buffer zones around potentially disruptive periods
Closing The Gap
We’re seeing a market where the gap between seller expectations and buyer capacity is starting to close.
Sellers are becoming more realistic, and serious sellers are distinguishing themselves from the market testers.
This creates a unique opportunity for agents who can identify and work with motivated vendors.
The Bottom Line
Success in 2025 won’t come from waiting for perfect conditions – they don’t exist.
It will come from smart planning that acknowledges and works around the calendar challenges ahead.
Remember, every market disruption creates opportunities for well-prepared agents and their vendors.
The agents who will thrive in 2025 are those who are having strategic conversations now, not waiting for the new year to start planning.
They’re the ones who understand that while we can’t control election dates or public holidays, we can control how we prepare our vendors to navigate around them.
Your mission for the remainder of 2024 is clear: start those vendor conversations now, plan your 2025 calendar meticulously, and position yourself to make the most of the early year opportunity window.
Because once that election campaign kicks into gear, you’ll be grateful for every listing you secured early.
Remember: in real estate, timing isn’t just about market conditions – it’s about making the conditions work for you and your vendors.
Hear more from Matt Lahood on the Elevate Podcast coming up this weekend.
