How soon is too soon when it comes to finding a property?

Property searches can span weeks. Sometimes they can span months. When preparation is not in place or expectations are unreasonable, the search can span years. 

But sometimes… when plans are solid, planets align and the property presents itself, the search can take a matter of days.

These can be the experiences that are quite stressful for a buyer, particularly if they have anticipated a tough road ahead with busy Saturday inspections, heart-wrenching auction losses and a newfound familiarity with a property search engine. The buyers suddenly ask themselves all kinds of questions;

• Should I be moving this quickly?
• Could something be wrong with it?
• Is there a better property out there, given this one appeared so quickly?

And when the property is an off-market opportunity or an auction pass-in, they may well ask;

• What is wrong with it if nobody else bid for it?
• Am I paying too much?
• Why would they sell off-market to me (versus selling it via auction method)?

It can be quite confronting for a buyer to determine whether buying now would be a great opportunity at the perfect time, or a knee-jerk reaction to the first eligible property that came along.

At times like this we rely heavily on our Strategy Document. We have carefully engineered a plan based on the location(s) our buyer is targeting, the size/layout of the dwelling their criteria entails, the condition of the property that they deem most suitable to their current and future plans, and the amount of land they have earmarked. Price is set and is a non-negotiable for us.

With this information documented, their criteria split into two segments; “must-have” and “nice-to-have”, a map with clear search boundaries shaded, and importantly, several pages of recently sold, comparable properties within the designated budget, identifying when a property comes along and makes the grade becomes a lot easier.

In the months of November and December we had four clients who all spotted their properties in their first week out inspecting. One lovely client flew in from Sydney and inspected the itinerary items we’d carefully selected for her visiting day to Elwood. Little did she realise that morning as she boarded a plane that she’d buy her future home that weekend.

The timing of the search is critical to understand too, and for two reasons. Firstly, the buyer’s timing may be a specific requirement of the search, for example – three weeks ago we helped an investor plan and purchase an investment property in Ballarat. They are relocating temporarily overseas in February and wanted to make sure their investment property was purchased, settled and rented out before they departed Melbourne. We knew that we had a Christmas shut down to work around and a likely settlement time range that most vendors would want to enforce. Shopping in November became really important and we had to leave enough time for the search to spill into December if our first voyages were not successful.

Other clients have worked with us of late with more urgency to their purchase date. Some have been expecting a child, others have been vacated from their rental property. One couple were relocating back down to Melbourne and ideally wanted to avoid expensive short-term accomodation.

That’s not to mention those investors who have had looming expiring pre-approvals prior to strict policy change and have had a finite period of time to secure an investment property before they are no longer eligible to purchase.

Recognising time-constraints is vital when commencing a search. A short-range shopping period requires an adjustment of criteria sensitivity. We never endorse an unsuitable compromise, but we do recognise that “ultra-fussy” can cost a purchase altogether for some…. particularly in a moving market.

The second ‘timing’ issue to be mindful is that of variation on the supply to demand ratio. The variation could be attributed to seasonal supply:demand or micro-market supply:demand. Whether it be a busy late spring weekend where supply outstrips demand, or a particular weekend where one type of dwelling is oversupplied in a particular suburb at the moment, it’s important for buyers to recognise when the cards fall in (or against) their favour.

When a season or ‘micro-glut’ is working in a buyer’s favour, they must recognise that buying conditions may not be like this in another month.

Likewise, in the depths of winter or early January, it’s not prudent to fight hard in the face of enormously strong competition when the right property at the right price may be around the corner in a months’ time.

For those purchasers who are fortunate enough to have the support of agents with off-market listing introductions, it’s even more important for them to rely on a firm strategy and to cross-check comparable sales values for themselves. Not every off-market is a great buy, nor is every off-market priced fairly. Off-markets arise for all kinds of reasons;

• The vendor has purchased a new property and has a short window to sell theirs within in an effort to free up cash to settle the new purchase (a short window is anything 90 days or less).
• The vendor is a public figure and doesn’t want their sale in the media
• The property is tenanted to bad tenants who won’t be cooperative with a normal campaign
• The owner needs a really quirky set of conditions/settlement terms that a normal campaign wouldn’t accommodate (ie. Vendor renting back after settlement for a given time etc)
• The sale is a distressing one and the vendors just want it sorted asap.

The sixth reason is one we don’t fall prey to. Some vendors are unreasonable and just want to save a dollar on everything including marketing. They are often the kind who usually want a price far in excess of their property’s actual value.

With a firm checklist and/or strategy, it becomes easier to identify when a property is the right one to go for.

Solid rigour when it comes to comparable sales analysis enables buyers to understand when they are paying the right price.

A property purchase decision isn’t too soon if it’s the right one.

There is nothing worse in a search than a passed up opportunity that haunts and taunts for the months thereafter.