As the real estate market has changed, so should your strategies for buying or selling in 2018. Henny Stier, Buyers’ Agent at OH Property Group, gives NSMs the rundown on everything you need to know about real estate in 2018.
Top Tips for Buyers in 2018
- Make sure you have a current loan pre-approval. Banks have changed a lot of their requirements and there are a lot more hurdles now. Renewing an expired loan pre-approval used to be pretty automatic but now banks are requiring updated documents to be re-submitted, and the whole process can take a lot longer than you expect.
- Be patient. There is little benefit to rushing in the current market. There will be a lot of new supply coming on and you should be picky.
- Don’t rely on the price guide given by the selling agents because the price will ultimately be determined by the level of competition (or lack thereof).
- Don’t think you have negotiated well just because you have managed a price reduction. If you have negotiated 5% off the asking price but the asking price was 20% above fair value, then you have been fooled into overpaying. Given prices are all over the place at the moment and many price guides are being dropped, you may need a Buyers Agent to tell you what that “walk away” price should be.
- Take your time to do proper due diligence. Don’t cut corners or it can end up costing you a lot.
- Know and understand how agents and Auctioneers are modifying their selling tactics if there is little genuine competition.
- Be tough with negotiations and know when to walk away. In the current climate, you do not want to overpay. Just because the Vendors may be un-realistic and have a dream price doesn’t mean you have to give in. Remember that once you purchase, the Banks still need to carry out an independent valuation. You don’t want to be in a position whereby your lender values the property at less than the purchase price paid.
- Spot the opportunities to buy well. There are many great buys out there – make sure you don’t miss it!
- Don’t be tempted to buy something just because it is cheap. It may well be cheap because it’s a lemon!
- Keep the big picture in mind. The focus should be on buying the best property you possibly can for your budget and not on getting a bargain just for the sake of it.
Top Tips for Sellers in 2018
- Sell before you buy a new home. As time-on-market is longer and prices are softening, you want to have some certainty before you commit on a new purchase. Otherwise you may end up with two mortgages and a lot of financial and emotional stress.
- Don’t hire a selling agent based on what they tell you your property is worth. Unfortunately, many selling agents try to win listings in this manner and then during the course of the marketing campaign they try to condition you down to sell at a much lower price.
- Make sure you hire the best selling agent who has a proven track record of being able to close deals in a soft market. The days of taking everything to Auction is gone and your agent needs to be a savvy negotiator to hold on to buyers and be able to extract the best price from them in the absence of any other competition. Once you have hired the best selling agent, trust their advice and listen to them. If you are not sure which selling agent is the best for your property, we offer a Vendor Consultation service.
- Make sure you present your property well. Buyers can afford to be picky now and are less willing to tolerate issues which have not been fixed.
- Do your homework and check out the other properties on the market that you may be competing against.
- Your first offer may well be your best. So don’t get too cocky and assume you will get a higher price by staying on the market longer. It is not about how long you have been on the market. It is about how long the buyer has been looking.
- Be realistic and don’t have lofty expectations which are based on results achieved in a much stronger market. The market in a few months may be even lower.
- Don’t panic. If you have a well-presented property which is competitively priced, it will sell. You just need to allow for more time than the typical four-week standard Auction campaign. Putting a time-pressure on the sale may lead to a less desirable outcome as well as un-necessary stress.
