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Home › Sell Property › Best Time to Sell Property in Melbourne
When’s the best time to sell property in Melbourne? According to PropTrack and CoreLogic data, October typically delivers Melbourne’s strongest selling results, with March and November also performing well. But the right time for you depends on your suburb, property type, and how crowded the market is when you list.
Selling a home in Melbourne isn’t just about picking a date on the calendar, it’s about reading the rhythm of the city. Melbourne’s property market moves in clear patterns shaped by seasons, school terms, and auction culture. Knowing when buyers are most active (and when competition between sellers is highest) can make a major difference to your final price and days on market.
If you’re flexible with timing, this guide will help you plan your campaign for peak performance. And if you can’t wait for the “perfect” month, you’ll learn how to make the most of your timing with smart preparation and strategy.
Key Takeaways October is historically Melbourne’s strongest month for sale prices and buyer activity, followed closely by March and November. Autumn (March–May) and Spring (September–November) are the city’s most active selling seasons with ideal weather, motivated buyers, and consistent clearance rates. Auction clearance rates above 70% signal a healthy, competitive market, a great time to list. Days on market and stock levels are your best local timing clues: when homes sell quickly and listings are low, sellers have the advantage. If you must sell in winter or summer, focus on presentation, pricing strategy, and hiring an agent who knows how to leverage seasonal strengths. The right agent can make timing work in your favour by adjusting strategy, marketing, and auction timing to current buyer behaviour.
Key Takeaways
Next step: Before diving in, it’s worth knowing what your property might be worth right now. Compare top Melbourne real estate agents and get a free, no-obligation price estimate for your suburb, timing your sale starts with understanding your market.
Melbourne’s property market is one of the most seasonal and auction-driven in Australia. Timing your sale well can mean tens of thousands of dollars difference in your result not because the property itself changes, but because buyer demand, competition, and confidence fluctuate throughout the year.
Here’s why timing matters so much in Victoria’s capital:
Understanding these patterns helps you decide not only when to sell, but how to tailor your campaign to the market’s mood whether it’s timing your auction, preparing your property, or choosing when to launch online.
Melbourne’s market runs on rhythm. Seasons, school terms and auctions shape when buyers are out in force and when sellers face more competition. Below, we break down each season in simple terms so you know what to expect and how to plan.
Spring is Melbourne’s most recognisable selling season. Gardens look their best, the weather is friendlier, and buyers who sat tight over winter come back to open.
Spring can be a winner, especially October–November, but because more sellers list, your presentation and pricing must stand out.
Autumn is calmer than spring, with mild weather and focused buyers. Many families aim to buy and settle before winter and mid-year school changes.
If you want strong results without spring’s crowd of competing listings, aim for March, it’s often a sweet spot for Melbourne sellers.
Summer splits in two: early December (still active) and late December to mid-January (holiday slowdown). Serious buyers don’t disappear but many are away, and agents often pause auctions.
Summer isn’t “bad,” it’s just stop/start. If you must sell, time your launch for early December or late January/February and tailor opens to serious, time-poor buyers.
Winter gets a bad rap, but lower stock means less competition between sellers. If your home photographs well and feels warm and inviting, you can still do very well.
Winter can work when stock is scarce and your presentation is on point. Watch weekly clearance rates to judge momentum.
Before you decide when to sell, it helps to know how the Melbourne market is actually performing right now. Just like checking the weather before heading out, reading a few key data signals can help you time your sale for the best possible result.
These indicators tell you whether buyer demand is heating up, cooling down, or sitting steady and they’re easy to follow once you know what to look for.
Auction clearance rates show how many homes sold successfully at auction (or shortly after) in a given week, compared to how many went under the hammer.
You can track weekly updates from Cotality. This is public, easy-to-read reports and usually updated every Saturday evening. Rising clearance rates for a few weeks in a row usually signal a seller’s market, meaning demand is outpacing supply.
Days on market is the average number of days a property sits online before it sells.
Check how long similar homes in your area have taken to sell recently. You can view this in CoreLogic or PropTrack suburb profiles. If properties like yours are selling fast, that’s your cue to list, momentum is your friend.
Stock refers to the total number of homes currently listed for sale in Melbourne.
Look up Melbourne new listings in the latest PropTrack Monthly Market Indicators or CoreLogic Home Value Index report. Both show how active the market is and whether supply is tightening or rising.
If listings are trending down but clearance rates are rising, that’s usually a prime selling window, strong demand meeting short supply.
Changes in the RBA cash rate directly affect how much buyers can borrow and how confident they feel making offers.
Keep an eye on RBA announcements (rba.gov.au) and commentary from PropTrack or Domain to see how rate trends might shape buyer behaviour. Don’t wait endlessly for a rate cut. If your suburb currently has low stock and strong demand, selling sooner can work in your favour, even before rates change.
Every Melbourne property sale follows the city’s rhythm shaped by weather, school terms, and buyer energy. Below is your month-by-month guide to understand how each period performs, what to do, and when to launch for the strongest result.
This section is especially useful if you’re trying to decide when to list or you’re planning several months ahead.
Melbourne slows down in early January as people holiday and agents take short breaks. By late January, interest returns, buyers refresh their searches, and open-home traffic begins to rise.
If your property looks best in summer light (beachside, outdoor living, pools), aim for a late-January launch with early-February inspections.
March is one of Melbourne’s strongest selling months. Buyers return with fresh pre-approvals, clearance rates climb, and auction Saturdays are packed. The weather is mild, and gardens still look lively.
PropTrack data shows March delivers some of the city’s best results, rivalled only by October.
Autumn continues strong, but momentum slows slightly around Easter and Anzac Day. The weather is stable, and serious buyers stay active.
What to do:
If stock levels are low post-Easter, you might face less competition, ideal for standout family homes.
Compare real, data-driven results from Melbourne’s top-performing agents, see who’s selling homes fastest near you, and book a free consultation to plan your campaign.
Winter cools the pace, but that doesn’t mean sales stop. Stock levels drop, meaning fewer comparable listings. Buyers still active are often highly motivated.
If you list now, you’re competing with fewer homes, use that scarcity to drive urgency.
Buyers begin planning again, but listings are still limited. The best campaigns prepare now for spring’s surge.
August is great for getting ahead of the pack. Being one of the first listings of spring can add real value.
Spring explodes, open-home crowds swell, gardens bloom, and buyers who’ve been waiting all winter are out in force. Across multiple studies, October is Melbourne’s strongest month for sale prices and buyer demand.
PropTrack’s seasonal research consistently ranks October as Melbourne’s top month to sell, with November close behind.
Momentum stays high through early November, but by late in the month, buyers and agents begin to fatigue before the Christmas wind-down.
November works beautifully if you’re well-prepared, don’t wait until December to launch.
The first half of December can still deliver strong sales, especially for time-sensitive buyers who missed earlier auctions. After mid-December, the market usually quietens until late January.
Early December auctions can capture motivated buyers wanting to settle before the holidays. After that, shift your focus to a New Year campaign.
Timing your sale around Melbourne’s natural momentum is like catching a wave, launching too early or too late, and you’ll paddle harder for less. With the right preparation, photography, and agent strategy, you can make almost any month work in your favour.
Even in a strong market, the right agent can add weeks of momentum and tens of thousands to your sale price. That’s because timing success isn’t just about when you sell, but how your agent positions your property within that window.
Melbourne’s market moves fast. Buyer energy rises and falls every few weeks, and the best agents know how to read those shifts in real time, adjusting your strategy before others even notice.
A good agent doesn’t just list your home; they engineer your campaign around the market pulse. They track data daily like the clearance rates, suburb-level days on market, and buyer sentiment and use that to decide the best:
They know, for example, that a Brunswick terrace will perform differently to a Point Cook family home, and they’ll time your opens, marketing and auction date accordingly. Ask your agent, “When would you launch if this were your own property?” Their answer will tell you everything about their market feel.
Every suburb has its own micro-market. An agent who’s sold three or four homes like yours in the past six months will have:
These agents don’t guess, they use lived data from your exact streets and price bracket. A local agent with proven suburb experience can often sell your property faster and with fewer price drops than an out-of-area agent.
The best Melbourne agents can make even a winter campaign sparkle because they know how to sell a story, not just a house. They’ll connect with the right buyer, emotional comfort, convenience, community and make your property feel like “home” the moment people step inside.
They’ll also tailor:
This mix of strategy and storytelling often matters more than the month you choose.
It’s easy to feel overwhelmed by headlines “rates up,” “prices down,” “market cooling.” A quality agent helps you filter the noise, focusing on your suburb’s reality, not national averages. They’ll interpret the data and help you act when conditions suit you, not the media cycle.
If the market slows mid-campaign, they’ll adapt: changing open-home formats, re-engaging warm buyers, or switching to private negotiation mode.That agility is priceless.
When interviewing agents, ask:
Their answers reveal whether they rely on market luck or genuine expertise.
When you combine the right time (clearance rates rising, stock low) with the right agent (local expertise, smart marketing), you create the perfect conditions for a standout result.
And if you can’t time the market perfectly? A skilled agent becomes your timing advantage, helping you sell quickly, confidently, and for the right price.
Melbourne’s property market runs in cycles, but every home and every seller has its own story. While October, March, and November often top the charts, your best time to sell is when your home is ready, your agent is prepared, and buyer confidence is building.
Instead of chasing the “perfect” month, focus on perfecting your plan:
Because when timing meets strategy, the results can surprise you, even in the middle of winter.
October is often the best month to sell in Melbourne, with March and November also performing strongly according to PropTrack and CoreLogic data. Always confirm with your suburb’s current auction clearance rates and days on market before listing.
Not always. Spring attracts more buyers but also more competing listings. Autumn can perform just as well sometimes better because stock levels are lower and motivated buyers are active.
Homes sell fastest when auction clearance rates rise and days on market shorten usually in March and October. Family suburbs may see quicker results before school terms end.
Mid-winter (June–July) can be slower for open-home attendance, but lower stock levels often balance that out. Well-presented homes still perform strongly when competition is low.
Yes. Rising clearance rates mean more auctions are selling under the hammer, signalling strong buyer competition, a prime time to list.
Not necessarily. If stock is low and buyers are active now, you may benefit sooner. Rate cuts can boost competition, but they also attract more sellers, balancing the advantage.
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