WHY US?
Why Do You Need Us?
The Right House. How?
The Right Price. How?
Get The Book!
WHY US?
Why Do You Need Us?
The Right House. How?
The Right Price. How?
Get The Book!
Some of the advice What is happening now in the real estate market hasn't been seen for years, but it's nearly all been seen before (we know, we were there*). Below, some observations and advice we have been passing on to our own clients.
Rising markets mean anxious buyers, falling markets mean anxious sellers. You're buying? Then be patient. There may be less choice available than in times of greater insanity, but the bargaining power is yours.
Amid all the chaos, there are pockets which will hold up. Yet, even within those pockets there are vendors praying for buyers to rescue them from the financial holes they have found themselves in. Price then becomes less important than a quick sale (and before your heart goes out to those poor souls, remember that if the market was rising, they would cheerfully take all they could get).
The house reduced to a price too low to pass up. Clever buying? Not always. You'll be living your life there. You need to love where you live.
When the market boomed, the agents made the rules. Now it's the buyer's turn. You want extended terms? They're possible. An offer subject to building inspection, solicitor's contract approval and/or finance? They're happening. The "standard" 10% deposit? It's not standard any more. Try $10,000.
Could be, but if there's no interest at that level, reality quickly kicks in. Or can. Do not assume that any figure you hear, at any time - including before, during or after an auction - is non-negotiable. 10% under a vendor bid? It's happening. Lower still? Yes.
Auctioneer's assistant pointing to a face in the crowd: "See him? He's interested. You should knock him out before he bids." Really? Believe that and you'll be bidding against someone who hasn't made a bid and probably never will. You'll be bidding against yourself.
Us: "Our offer is good until 3 o'clock, then drops by $100,000," which concentrates the minds of estate agents like almost nothing else.
Dummy bidders are re-emerging. Often friends of vendors keen to get a "legitimate" bid on record before a property is passed in. That last bid is not necessarily a bid you have to match.
Auctioneers bellow that the highest bidder has the only right to negotiate post-auction. And that's hot air. Until contracts are signed and/or money changes hands, you have as much right as anyone to stay in the race. But make sure the vendor knows you're interested.
Agents will claw back control any way they can. Expressions of interest, sales by tender, tosses of coins after midnight. Anything which puts your position into their hands. Then they start to work on you. You'll hear about others who are interested. You'll find yourself having to bid against them. (You're boxing a ghost.) You can be almost certain that whatever interest there is will be exaggerated. Put an end to it. Demand to know what price will buy the property. Then work down.
If you're thinking of putting in an offer before an auction, get to as many inspections as you can. Sniff the air. Smell the interest. Suggest you want to make an offer and see how keen the agents are (the keener they are, the more likely yours is the only serious interest they've had). When they ask for an offer, tell them that you want to know at what price the vendor will sell. How they respond is another measure of how keen they are.
When the other side knows you are prepared to walk away, they are much more likely not to waste your time or to attempt many of the games they would like to play. "You have another buyer prepared to pay more? Good luck to you. You can take my offer now or let's call it quits."
Is this the right house for the way you live? Is the floor plan workable? Is the garden? Is the district?
Use your imagination. 'Live' in the house, in your mind, from morning 'til night.
When should you start to control an auction?As soon as you have decided on a property, it's time to start finding out as much as you can about it, the agent and the vendor.
Get a building report, then go to work on what you need to give you an edge. Are there many people at inspections? Is the talk among other possible buyers positive or negative? Is the agent smug or humble? Take it all in.
Agents "condition" sellers. You can do the same to them. Suggest you may be interested in bidding. Ask for confirmation of the expected price. Suggest that's ridiculous. Ask the agent whether the vendor is considering bids prior. Make a low offer. Insist that it's conveyed.
Don't pay much attention to what is said, concentrate on how it's said.
If you have an agent who is falling over to please you, chances are you won't have a lot of competition at an auction. If you have a seller who is prepared to accept all kinds of conditions (subject to finance, long settlement period, etc) you have an anxious seller.
Both are signals that fortune will favour the cautious. If your low offer is not accepted, then wait for the auction. And then be prepared not to bid; certainly not against a vendor bid and certainly not until the property is on the market.
No. The games change and so must your tactics. But you will do better than most if you decide a price before you begin (and stick to it) and if you do all the homework you can in finding out why the property is for sale, what the vendor's needs are and whether you have any real competition.
You would also be wise to get someone who is not emotionally involved who can stop you going beyond your budget.
We'd be pleased to hear from you (click the button at right); and you can learn more when you look around this website.
Top End Trends is a weekly update on what's happening at the top of the market. Click here for a look.
Before we became Australia's first buyers' advocates, we were among Melbourne's more successful real estate agents (mostly in Toorak and surrounding suburbs). We have seen the peaks, we have also seen the valleys. Between the early '80s and now, there have been at least three booms and busts, so there's little we're seeing today that we have not seen before. That is in stark contrast to most estate agents, who have only ever experienced rising markets and are now, often, out of their depth. And there's more
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