It was nice to feel like a REAL real estate agent last week – after a period of relatively few inspections, to pack 5 open homes and 4 private viewings into one caffeine fuelled day was definitely an improvement on recent Saturday outings.
Buyers seem to be out in greater numbers, particularly in the first home buyer space, though I found a number of professional couples and young families also ready to make a move.
One property which we were particularly pleased with was your quintessential starter home – low-set, 3 bedroom, 1 bathroom, decent sized block, good condition but room to upgrade. 3 first home buyers duked it out (on paper) for the keys and we were very pleased to tie it all together by 7pm Saturday night (less than 5 days after it first went to market).
Given we were dealing with first timers, there were a few more questions than usual about the process, particularly around how offers are dealt with once there is more than one group wanting to sit at the table.
First up – there is no “first in, best dressed” in buying a property (though good manners as always, go a long way). This idea comes from auctions, where (in NSW and Victoria but NOT QLD), the highest bidder has the first right of refusal for negotiating post-auction. Just because you submitted your offer first, doesn’t guarantee you are going to get it and doesn’t preclude the seller from dealing with multiple parties. If you DO want to improve your chances to secure the home, then you need to go fast AND hard with your offer, and by that I mean put in your offer closer to your finish line than your starting point. You need to entice the sellers enough to accept the bird in the hand, rather than wait and see if that rustling in the trees is another one with a higher offer waiting to come through the door. As a buyer, that 2nd offer might not trump yours, but it also might, which could be costly.
The rest of this year is looking like we are going to see less property than usual on the market, which means that if you have specific requirements, be they price, style or location, there could be a real risk of missing out. Cheeky offers are all well and good and sometimes can work well, just be prepared with your next strategy in case they don’t.