By Brendan Leahy, Naked Real Estate®
I should say up front that I get paid when you list, so an article telling you not to wait is exactly what you would expect me to write. Read it with that in mind, and note that there is a section below on when waiting genuinely is the right call.
Here is the question I get more than almost any other:
“Should we wait until spring?”
The advice behind that question is real. It is just not from here.
The spring rule is mostly an east coast auction rule
Spring seasonality is mostly an east coast phenomenon, and it exists largely because of auctions.
In Sydney and Melbourne a large share of homes sell under the hammer, and a lot of those auctions are held in the front yard. Buyers stand outside. Bidding happens in the open. When it is wet and cold, fewer people turn up, so fewer sellers want to go to auction, so fewer homes are listed. Winter thins out, spring floods back, and the pattern becomes the rule everybody repeats.
Western Australia does not work that way. Almost everything here sells by Offer and Acceptance, and auctions are rare enough in Perth that they barely register in the national auction figures at all. REIWA puts the reason down to how well the Offer and Acceptance contract works and how familiar it is to WA buyers.
So the machinery that creates the spring rule barely exists in this state. The rule got imported anyway, because most national property advice is written from Sydney and Melbourne.
Across my career, and I have been selling in this patch since 2002 with more than 1,500 personal sales, January and May have consistently been my two busiest months for written offers. Neither of them is spring, and plenty of those homes launched in December and April, two of the months sellers are most often told to avoid.
Season changes how a home presents. It does not change what a buyer will pay.
This is the distinction that matters, and it is the one most seasonal advice blurs.
A buyer who wants your home, in your street, at your price, wants it in July as much as in October. What changes across the year is how the property looks on the day they walk through, and presentation is a solvable problem.
The reason you are selling is not solvable. It does not reschedule itself to suit the garden.
The dry summer paddock
Here is the objection I hear most about summer in the Hills. By February the paddocks are brown, the lawns are tired, and the whole place looks dry.
That is true. It is also mostly a non-issue with local buyers.
People buying in the Perth Hills know what a WA summer looks like. They have lived through them. They know that brown grass in February is not poor land, and they know it greens up the moment the rain comes. A buyer from Roleystone is not startled by a dry paddock in Roleystone.
What does hurt you in summer is not the colour of the grass. It is a property that looks neglected: dead growth left standing, gutters full, gardens untended, nothing done. Buyers can tell the difference between a dry season and an owner who stopped caring, and so can I.
Winter in the Hills helps some homes and hurts others
Winter is where the “let’s wait” conversation usually starts. Sometimes that is sound advice about a specific property. Sometimes it is just easier than doing the work.
Winter genuinely helps a home with green paddocks, a creek running, a valley outlook opened up by bare trees, a fireplace, or the kind of misty hills lifestyle that people move here for. Those things do not photograph in January.
Winter genuinely hurts a home that is dark, south facing, damp, has drainage problems, a muddy driveway, or an outdoor entertaining area that is the main selling point. If that is your house, the honest answer may be to fix the drainage and go to market in October.
That is a judgement about your property. It is not a judgement about the month.
Which season suits which home
Acreage and lifestyle properties. Winter, early spring and autumn all work well. The land, the trees, the water and the feel of the place are the product.
Homes where the garden is the feature. Late winter through spring, once the garden is prepared properly before the campaign starts, not during it.
Pools and outdoor entertaining. Late spring and early summer show these at their best.
Dark, damp or poorly drained homes. Avoid deep winter unless the presentation work has been done.
Standard family homes. Season matters least. Price, presentation and what else is for sale matter most.
Rare homes with almost no direct competition. List when there is a buyer pool, whatever the month.
The test that actually matters
Not “what season is it”. Ask this instead:
How many homes like mine are for sale in my suburb right now, and who is looking for one?
If there is nothing comparable available in Bedfordale or Roleystone this week, that is a stronger signal than any month on the calendar. Waiting until October might mean four direct competitors list on your street in the meantime, and you have handed buyers a choice they did not have.
That is the whole thing. Buyer demand against competing stock. Everything else is decoration.
When waiting is genuinely the right call
Wait if painting or repairs will materially change the result. Wait if major landscaping is
nearly finished. Wait if a tenant is about to move out and the home will present better empty. Wait if a directly competing property is on the market right now and will likely be gone in six weeks. Wait if your next purchase is not clear, or you are simply not ready to move.
Those are strategy. Waiting because it is not spring is habit.
So when should you sell?
When your life says it is time.
You are selling because something changed. Upsizing, downsizing, a separation, a relocation, retirement, school catchments, getting closer to family, releasing equity. Those reasons do not care what the garden looks like, and they should not be overruled by advice written for a different state’s auction calendar.
Get the price right, get the presentation right for whatever season you are in, and get the sale process right. That is what decides the result.
Frequently asked questions
Is spring really the best time to sell a house in the Perth Hills?
Not for the reason people think. The “wait for spring” rule comes from the east coast, where a large share of homes sell at auction and cold weather thins out both buyers and listings. Auctions are rare in Perth, so that seasonal machinery barely applies here. What matters far more than the month is how many comparable homes are for sale in your suburb and who is looking.
Does winter hurt house prices in WA?
Season changes how a home presents, not what a motivated buyer will pay. Winter genuinely helps some Hills homes: green paddocks, a running creek, a valley outlook through bare trees, a fireplace. It genuinely hurts others that are dark, damp, poorly drained, or reliant on outdoor entertaining space. It is a judgement about your specific property, not about the calendar.
Should I wait to sell until my garden looks better?
Only if the work will materially change the result and is nearly done. Preparing a garden properly before a campaign can be worth waiting for. Waiting simply because it is not spring, when the presentation is already fine, usually just hands competitors time to list against you.
When is the right time to sell in the Perth Hills?
When your reason to move is real, your price is right, and your presentation suits the season you are in. The strongest timing signal is local: little comparable stock and active buyers beats any month on the calendar. If a competing property is on the market now and will be gone in weeks, that is a better reason to move than the season is to wait.
Selling in the Perth Hills or Foothills?
Bedfordale, Roleystone, Kelmscott, Mount Nasura, Mount Richon and Seville Grove are six different markets, and the right timing depends on your property, your competition and your situation.
I will tell you straight whether I think you should go now, do some work first, or wait for a better window. Including when the answer is wait.
Book a free Perth Hills and Foothills property appraisal. If you want to understand how we run the sale itself, read Auction vs Private Treaty vs Select Date Sale® and our Best Service Guarantee.
Truth. Strategy. Sold.
About the author: Brendan Leahy has been selling homes throughout the Perth Hills and Foothills since 2002, with more than 1,500 personal sales. Learn more about Brendan Leahy and the Naked Real Estate story.