Posted by Bees Nees City Realty
on 3 July 2014
The shift to online advertising in real estate has made life simpler for home buyers, but it’s also created a “fresh is always best” approach. You’ve signed up to have info emailed straight to you when new listings hit the market that fit your search criteria, so now you can sit back and wait for one that suits. And there’s the trap. Guess what every other home buyer is also doing (your competitors for that prized home)?
A really notable trend of recent months is the rush of activity agents are getting for new Brisbane listings during their first fortnight on the market. Since prehistoric man sold their caves there’s always been excitement about the latest to hit the market, but lately it seems home buyers are fixated on these. First open homes are flat out, offers submitted with some panic, buyers desperate to pip their fellow home-hunters.
So here’s a really obvious tip that could save you thousands: There’s a lot of great value to be found in the properties that have been on the market for more than 3-4 weeks. Often the owners’ price expectations have been adjusted. There may be less enquiry and less competition as their marketing campaign slows. The newspaper advertising budget may be spent, their spot on the online portals slipping further down the list.
Why not scroll backwards through those online listings so you’re looking at the oldest first? You might be amazed at the gems you’ll uncover. The large portals charge huge and growing fees to rank properties at the top of your search results. So if you skip down to the ‘standard’ listings you’ll see identical homes but share the viewing with fewer other home-buyers. These 'standard' new listings often start on pages 3 or 4.
It’s human nature to find comfort in crowds and want to buy a home that’s sought-after and desired by many. But sometimes it pays to think for yourself and back your own judgement of the market.
