A home buyer’s guide to making it in a competitive market

Here’s the thing about being a home buyer today, there are hundreds of other home buyers, investors and holiday home hunters, who look just like you, have the same buying priorities and budget, and ultimately, fall in love with the same home. Here are five key market tips to ensure you are the winner on the day, and can start enjoying life in your dream home.

Be ready to commit.

Buying a new home is a journey with many different experiences. Your wish list at the start of search can transform many times over as your expectations change and you are exposed to new ideas and living styles. Taking the time to identify exactly what you are looking for, down to the finer detail, means that you will have the ability to move quickly and make the commitment when you find the match.

Check your finances.

If you’ve done your research you will have a clear idea of your budget, and while experimenting with online calculators can help you to confirm your budget, they aren’t the same as obtaining a pre-approval. It’s never too early in the process to get financial advice about your borrowing limits as well as checking for eligibility for home buyer grants. To make sure you can make the commitment at the right time, organise a meeting with your bank to discuss pre-approval and raising a deposit.

Seize the opportunity.

If you’ve found ‘the one’, then you need to have all your arrangements in place to enable you to seize the opportunity. Hesitation or indecisiveness can mean you miss out (again). If buying at an auction, your strategy for the day needs to include your absolute budget limits for your final bid, but also what happens if you are nominated as the highest bidder if the property doesn’t meet the reserve and is passed in.

Don’t compromise.

In a flying market, after countless disappoints, each time missing out on the dream home of the moment, it can be easy to settle for second best, or, exceed your budget limitations. Both scenarios can lead to ongoing stress. With the ‘not-quite-dream-home’ purchase it can take a long time to get the new home magic back, as you wonder about the wish list you once had. Similarly, exceeding your agreed budget can mean not being able to add some personalisation down the track, no new couch and the new kitchen definitely has to wait.

Have a Plan B.

If you haven’t been fortunate to nab the home of your dreams from the start, it can be hard to keep motivated to keep the process going. While you may have already planned the celebratory get-together, it can be a good idea to also discuss what happens if it doesn’t work out. This may mean meeting with the real estate agent afterwards to reinforce what you’re looking for, or taking the time to discuss and re-assess your list of needs and buying strategy.

At Great Ocean Road Real Estate, we are focused on developing long term relationships with our vendors and purchasers. Get in contact with us today to tell us about your dream home wish list, so we can get started finding the right property for you.