SELL IN SPRING FOR HIGHER PRICES, WINTER FOR FASTER SALE

Garry Tranter from Price My House for Free Limited

When you are selling a house, your success often seems to come down to a bit of luck.

The right buyer finds your open home, and - if you're really fortunate - gets into a bit of competitive bidding with another keen purchaser to push up the price.

But when the market is not so hot, that luck can feel harder to find. The latest Real Estate Institute figures show the number of sales in September was down by a quarter, year-on-year.

Market commentators say timing your sale right can help. Kim Sinclair, of Crockers Research Hub, said data showed a connection between migration flows and house price movements.

New Zealand's net migration has been running at a record rate as more people move here and fewer leave. This is one of the factors credited with driving strong house price growth over the past five years. But Sinclair said there was a clear pattern of migration dips between March and May each year, and again in November. That seemed to correlate with dips in sales prices, too.

Sinclair said it made sense that an influx of new arrivals looking for a home would have an effect on the housing market. "This suggests that selling property may not be recommended during those periods as demand may be lower and, conversely, these periods could be good times to buy." Nigel Jeffries, head of Trade Me Property, said winter was the best time of year for sellers who wanted a quick sale. His site's data showed that between June and August, houses spent less time on the market. Last year, properties in Wellington and Christchurch sold faster in winter than in any other season, spending an average of 24 and 38 days on the market, respectively.