With a healthy number of sales for mid spring, buyers and sellers had to rediscover how to work together. The market seemed to finally find its groove this October.

One thing throwing the balance is the length of time properties now take to sell. Days-on-market figures are up across the city. Buyers are taking their time and not banging down doors at every sale. So listening to the market is increasingly relevant to sellers’ campaigns.

In the past 12 months, the number of days BresicWhitney properties sit on the market has gone from an average of around 22 days to 32 days. In our core regions, the wider average has gone from around 30 days to 40 days. We finished with 107 sales for the month. Better awareness of the new market helped these buyers and sellers come together.

Sellers are experiencing something they’ve forgotten how to embrace – patience. Start with a strong strategy. And be ready to find the balance. That’s the theme of spring 2017.

Take 9 Renwick Street, Drummoyne. That property was on the market previously and failed to sell. Then it went to auction and was passed in. It ended up selling for just above the price guide after auction.

Another home in the same street (64) sold for close to its price guide just 2 weeks into a rebranded campaign. It was previously listed elsewhere and spent more than 6 weeks flailing on web portals.

As well as being patient, committed sellers are treating genuine offers with new levels of respect. Under previous market conditions, sellers could afford to take a wait-and-see approach. Now, they are welcoming open dialogues with buyers.

It’s interesting to see these negotiations land in a position where both parties are happy rather than to still be in the market, 6 weeks later, with no offers. A quick search reveals plenty of those homes out there.

It’s proof that strategy has become more than just ‘list, advertise, sell’. Buyers who have missed out on similar properties need to be better prepped. The auction route might need rethinking. And your target buyer pools might need to be reexamined. When the market is lacking momentum, who’s providing the urgency?

Those 107 sales were centred on the Inner East and Inner West but we’re still seeing strong results in notable family draw cards such as Marrickville and Balmain.

The rental market continues to be challenging for owners and spring hasn’t brought its usual post-winter reprieve. It’s interesting to see more homes timed to hit the market and coincide with a rush that just isn’t there.

With tenants becoming increasingly pickier, their main focuses are price and upkeep.