The Sydney summer leasing peak is the one stretch of the year when a landlord can get almost everything right at once, and the reality is most people start too late to catch it. In our experience December and January are the busiest leasing weeks in Sydney: new jobs start, families settle in before the new school year, and people arrive from interstate and overseas looking for somewhere to live now. Most years we get calls in mid-December from landlords wanting to catch that wave. Catching it happens in November. Here is the six-week countdown we work to, and why each step sits where it does.
Why the Sydney summer leasing peak rewards the prepared
A property that is lease-ready by late November, photographed properly and priced to the live market, meets the peak with a queue at the first open. One that only comes to market in February, in our experience, meets a thinner field, with many of the best tenants already settled. Across the properties we manage the average time to lease is around 8.4 days, and the properties that hit that number in summer are the ones where the preparation was finished before the demand arrived, not during it.
Six weeks out: the honest conversation about price
Start with price, because everything else is built on it. A rental appraisal done now, on what comparable homes are actually leasing for right now, tells you whether the property needs work to justify the rent you have in mind, or whether it is ready as it stands. In our experience the most common reason a property misses the peak is a price set on hope in November and corrected in February.
Own a Sydney rental and wondering what it should be earning? The reality is most landlords are a quick conversation away from knowing. Get a free, no-obligation rental appraisal from the team that manages 1,400+ Sydney properties.
Five weeks out: the repairs a tenant notices in the first minute
Walk through the property the way an applicant does. The sticking door, the blown downlight, the loose handle, the dripping tap, the tired grout: none of them is expensive and all of them cost you at an open. Book the trades now, because they are as busy as you are in December. Our room-by-room checklist is the list we use.
Four weeks out: the compliance basics
Smoke alarms working, the condition report ready to sign, and the property meeting the minimum standards NSW Fair Trading publishes. None of these is something you want to be sorting out in the week the tenant signs. Our guide to getting your property lease-ready covers them in order.
Three weeks out: the deep clean and the photographs
Clean first, then photograph. A professional photographer, in the middle of the day, with the beds made, the benches clear, the blinds up and the lights on. The photographs do the first inspection for you, and in summer they are competing with more listings, not fewer. In our experience a well-presented home photographed properly leases faster and to a better field of applicants.
Two weeks out: listed, priced and ready for enquiry
List with priority placement on the major portals, at the price the appraisal supports, with opens scheduled at times working tenants can make. Every enquiry answered promptly, every applicant screened the same way: identity, income, rental history, social media and references. This is the fortnight where a slow reply costs you the tenant.
The peak: a decision, promptly
When the right applicant is in front of you, move. Good tenants have other inspections that weekend, and in January they have more. We price to lease, present properly and decide quickly, then keep the good tenant we found, and that is what property management done properly looks like in what is, in our experience, the busiest stretch of the year.
If you are reading this in December
You have not missed it. Shorten the countdown rather than skipping steps: price honestly, fix what a tenant sees first, photograph it properly and list it. A property that comes to market well presented in the second week of December, in our experience, still meets strong demand across the eastern suburbs and the inner city. The one that waits for “after the holidays” is the one that sits. If you would like a read on where your property sits against the countdown, a current rental appraisal is the quickest place to start.
Frequently asked questions
When is the best time to lease a property in Sydney?
In our experience the busiest leasing weeks in Sydney are December and January, when new jobs, new school years and arrivals from interstate and overseas land at once, so a property that is lease-ready, photographed and priced to the market by late November meets the strongest demand of the year. A well-prepared property leases in any month, but the margin for error is widest in summer.
When should I list my property to catch the Sydney summer leasing peak?
To catch the Sydney summer leasing peak, aim to have the property lease-ready, professionally photographed and priced to the live market by late November, with opens scheduled before the December demand arrives, because a listing that only reaches the market in February, in our experience, meets a field that has already thinned. Work back about six weeks from that date.
What is the most common reason a Sydney rental misses the summer leasing peak?
In our experience the most common reason a Sydney rental misses the summer leasing peak is a price set on hope in November and corrected in February, so start the countdown with a current rental appraisal on what comparable homes are actually leasing for this spring. Only then book the repairs, the clean and the photography.
Is it too late to lease my property in December?
No, in our experience a property that comes to market well presented and priced to the live market in the second week of December still meets strong demand in Sydney, so shorten the countdown rather than skipping steps: price honestly, fix what a tenant sees first, photograph it properly and list it with opens tenants can make.
Talk to Dylan Henry
Dylan Henry is Business Development Manager at Lifestyle Property Agency. For a straight, no-obligation conversation about your property — how it is performing and how to get more from it — call Dylan on 0498 498 344 or email dh@lifestylepropertyagency.com.