The current sellers market sweeping through Tamworth will only last another three months, according to one real estate agent.
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Mark Sleiman, licensee at PRD Tamworth, said they were sitting at 30 per cent of housing stock available, creating the supply and demand situation perfect for sellers.
"I'm confident that level is being felt across the other agencies too," Mr Sleiman said.
Sam Spokes, licensee for Tamworth's LJ Hooker, said the current strength hasn't been seen at the same levels since the early 2000s.
"At the moment a lot of properties are barely reaching the market," he explained.
"There is definitely a stock shortage compared to normal times."
He said first home buyers were flooding the market in levels he hadn't seen before, while Mr Sleiman said the trends were "consistently strong" across all demographics.
With so many customers looking at the same property, there has been a real race to exchange, with buyers going the extra mile to secure their dream house.
He gave one example of a house in Calala which sold for an extra $19,000 above the full asking price.
"We put a deal together for one at full price, then within a moment, another customer came along, said they loved this, wanted it, and was prepared to offer 'xyz', and then it was a race to exchange," Mr Sleiman explained.
He said many people have had their offers trumped by the next buyer, for a number of other reasons.
The first, people are going forward and making offers without first shoring up their finances.
The second, people needing a pest and building inspection were waiting up to three weeks for an appointment.
Someone else who didn't require the inspections and were willing to pay the same rates, sealed the deal.
Mr Sleiman predicted the sellers market would only last another three months before the time ran out as stock flooded the market.
"We go from, say, 260 properties, to 460 and then you've lost the supply that works in their favour and it drifts back into a buyers market or a balanced market," he said.
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But Mr Spokes said at the moment, people were still relatively hesitant to sell.
"I think the biggest thing is the uncertainty, there are people out there who aren't 100 per cent sure that it is the right time to sell, as things can change overnight in this climate," he said.
He said that once vaccines roll out and confidence in the health sector shores up, people would be more confident to sell.