To be in the race you need to have your oar in the water

Let's anticipate a positive outcome from the imminent election and a noticeable improvement in sentiment. Simply put the residential property market should respond positively because it is just so cheap at the moment, way below replacement value.

So, to be in the post-election home buy/sell race, with a good chance of winning, you need to have your oar in the water now - before the country's voters go to the polls.

Get your name out there and be at the top of the of estate agents lists - and build relationships with them. If you choose the sheep-like option of waiting, seeing, and moving with the flock, opportunities may well pass you by.

This advice applies to both buyers and sellers.

Buyers, in particular, should join the race at this stage and take the initiative by getting on the radar screen of selected real estate agents, and sift through available opportunities.

Familiarise yourselves with the market now, because you may not get the same level of attention from agents when, and if, confidence improves post-election, to the extent that there is a substantial increase in buyer numbers and sealed sales.

Front-of-mind

Sellers who put their homes on the market now, a few weeks before the election, will gain some early momentum by being front-of-mind and on the short list of a number of buyers who have seen the property.

They will thus be ahead of the pack by the time the last vote is cast and counted, and the huge uncertainty we've been experiencing has begun to lift.

Meanwhile, over-cautious, wait-and-see buyers and sellers who are determined to transact only after the outcome of the national election on May 8 -when the country's socio-economic and -political outlook will inevitably become clearer - should think again.

Once the election results roll out, and confidence improves, they may well face a wave of competition from a pent-up multitude of other like-minded sellers and buyers who had been waiting in the wings in the then prevailing climate of uncertainty.

Missing the boat

In the process, opportunities will almost certainly have been lost. Those who wavered could simply end up being among a whole bunch of "new arrivals" on the residential property market - with little chance of standing out individually.

Missing the boat - especially when the tide is about to turn - is always an uncomfortable experience.