On the market

The pressure is on. House inspections underway, lots of people interested, but no definite offer yet. Very early days yet.

We've ""de cluttered ". Fresh flowers out for the inspections. Nice fluffy towels. Got a brilliant house washer to wash the house and paths (while he listens to Tolstoy recordings on his MP3) Plus some excellent landscaping guys who did the garden revamp - making all the hard decisions I'd never made, chopping anything that looks ugly or gets in the way, mulching , sort of backyard decluttering, plus all the touch - ups needed around the house I'd have put off until they became embarasing. Does this really make a difference to the price? We'll see.

And we're still awaiting the bridging finance approval. It will be very bad news if that falls through. Plan B? Still, the property valuations (on mine and the one I'm buying) should allow me to be in debt up to my eyeballs. Just what I needed as I contemplate retirement, perhaps nearer 70 than 60 now. Bad planning, should have done all of this first! Finished up going direct with the bank rather than the broker, probably costing a bit extra but in the circumstances..

And I just read an article by a real estate commentator saying if you're house isn't selling, it's over priced and basically take whatever offer you can get. How long is ""too long" - a month on the market, 6 weeks? I know from when I was buying, I got a bit suspicious when a property was still on the market at say 6 weeks.

All sorts of feedback about Sydney house prices - from firming, in some areas (I''d like to think mine) to flat and declining. Closeness to transport, even the city are big pluses now, and getting more important with fuel prices. Lot's of people are looking for good public transport links I'm told. But really there is no "Sydney"as such - so big and diverse it really contains a hundred real estate markets, all pulsing away at different rates I suspect.

Why am I worrying, it's only been a week. But gloomy headlines, crashing share markets are being mid winter - is this a good time? I keep telling myself there's not a lot of competition, with everyone holding off till Spring .