Just as a competitive market is great news to sellers, it can create challenge for buyers – especially if you are buying your first home. The good news is that people continue to find their way to a deal, whatever the market is doing. While I said in my last post that bidding wars are good for sellers, they don’t have to be a bane for buyers. You just have to accept them as an inevitability of supply and demand.
Here are some helpful tips for buyers in a competitive market:
★ Know your real buying power: The whole point of establishing your finances before heading out to shop is to create realistic and defined parameters for your purchase. It’s important to remember that the time you spend living with the commitment you take on will far outlast the in-the-moment passions that come from wanting a house that someone else is trying to buy, too.
★ Have faith: The happiness that comes from the deal you finalize always eclipses the disappointments that may have come before. Not getting a house is never the disaster you think it is.
★ It can be more complex than offering the most: Negotiating is about much more than putting the most money on the table. Sometimes, flexibility around closing details, having the deposit in hand, and nailing down your finances or other details can highlight reliability and confidence over the importance of numbers.
★ Experience pays: In more than almost every other aspect of the real estate business, experience and knowledge make a difference in successfully navigating competitive bidding. Sometimes, just being professionally known by the selling agent can lead to a recommendation of acceptance, simply from the trust factor. At other times, it’s good to know when to push forward and when to walk away. One thing is for sure: when you find yourself in competition for a particular property, emotions run high and the calmest voices prevail.
