27/09/2026
If you want to be in before Christmas, this is the fortnight that decides it.
Here is the maths nobody explains to buyers. A standard settlement in Victoria runs 30, 60 or 90 days. Sign a contract in the next two weeks on a 60 day settlement and you are settling in late November or early December, comfortably. Sign in November and you are settling in January.
That matters more than it sounds. Over the Christmas period, banks run skeleton crews, councils close, the land registry operates reduced hours, and settlement slots book out from the front. A file that could settle in 5 days in June can take 3 weeks in late December.
None of this is a reason to rush a purchase. It is a reason to know your timeline before you make an offer, so you choose a settlement date that works instead of inheriting one that does not.
If you are looking to be in your new home for Christmas, talk to your conveyancer about settlement dates now, before you sign.
We review contracts free of charge, as many as it takes until you find the right property, by phone with you directly. That way we can tell you what the settlement date actually means for your finance and your timeline, rather than handing you a general summary.
Book a time in the comments and we will tell you what is still achievable before Christmas.