The market is heating up!
According to CoreLogic data, Sydney and Melbourne are now rising markets with a sustained dwelling growth of 3.5% and 3.4% this quarter as of 30 September 2019.
In addition, combined capital city auction clearance rates have surged above 70% and national dwelling prices rose 0.9% in the last quarter.
Buying in a rising market brings with itself certain challenges for buyers.
Here are three tips to help you buy when the market is rising.
Tip 1: Go fast
There are fewer properties on the market compared to the number of buyers, so acting fast is critical.
If you like a property, you need to make an offer quickly before other buyers do.
Don’t offer too low, as you’ll likely miss out. This varies depending on the suburb.
If you’re preapproved and you have a conveyancer ready then you’ll be ahead of most buyers.
Before you start looking, secure the finance you need to purchase a property by getting a reliable pre-approval.
Give us a call on 1300 889 743 or fill in our online enquiry form to get pre-approved.
Tip 2: Look for off-market properties
Did you know that half of the properties that buyers agents find for their clients weren’t even on the market?
Directly email real estate agents and buyers agents who are in your area with a description of what you are looking for and ask if they have any off-market properties.
Let them know exactly what you’re looking for i.e. :
- Price range
- The suburb/area
- Type of property – house, townhouse, unit etc.
- No. of bedrooms
- Proximity to transportation, schools or services
- Any other facilties/ amenities you’re after such as a good entertaining area in the backyard
Agents love this as it helps them to convince potential sellers to put their house up for sale.
Alternatively, there are a couple of innovative off-market listing websites such as ‘Open Whisper’ and “Listing Loop’ which can match you with properties in their databases that you specify.
You can learn more about how to find off-market properties here.
Tip 3: Cast a big net
Realestate.com.au and Domain.com.au have simple search functions, but they aren’t perfect.
Often a house is listed as 3 bedrooms but it has a large study with a skylight so it’s suitable as a 4 bedroom home. Or it says 1 bathroom but you could easily put in another one out the back.
People often end up buying in a neighbouring suburb, not the one they initially started looking in.
For this reason, it’s best to have a saved search which emails you when new properties come on the market.
Keep the search criteria as wide as possible to make sure you don’t miss out on a property that is right for you.
Are we in a buyer’s market or a seller’s market?
According to Macquarie’s Property Report – September 2019, there’s an opportunity on both sides at the moment.
Due to the higher auction clearance rates, if you’re selling a property, it’s likely to be snapped up, unless there’s something wrong with it.
The report further adds, more properties will come onto the market in the coming months, commensurate with a rise in auction clearance rates and house prices.
Typically, when Sydney and Melbourne market experience price growth, other capital city markets react with a lag.
Are you ready to start looking?
Avoid missing out on your ideal property simply because you started looking before getting pre-approved.
Speak with one of our specialist mortgage brokers by giving us a call on 1300 889 743 or fill in our online assessment form to get started on your pre-approval.