Must-Know Tips For Buying a Home in a Seller’s Market

Posted by Dave Kotler on Wednesday, August 4th, 2021 at 10:45am.

5 Essential Tips for Buying a Home in a Seller's MarketIn a seller’s market, more buyers are looking for homes than there are homes for sale, creating a lot of competition between the buyers. For a seller, this is a fantastic time to list a home. But for a buyer, it can be a difficult time because the market moves so quickly that buying a good home can feel like an impossible feat. Fortunately, it’s not impossible, but it can still be hard, so buyers need to know what to do in advance. Here are 6 tips all buyers should know before heading into a seller’s market.

Time Is Of The Essence

Between tiring obligations like work and school, it can be easy to push home viewings to the weekend. However, buyers who are serious about finding a home need to go to showings as soon as they see a home with potential get put on the market. Viewing homes quickly helps put buyers ahead of the competition, and the sooner a buyer views a home, the more time they have to think about it and decide if they want to offer or not

Choosy Buyers Often Lose Out

Because there aren’t many homes on the market, buyers can’t be too picky if they want to buy a new home. Even under the best circumstances, it’s nearly impossible to find a home that is 100% perfect, and in a seller’s market, buyers can’t get hung up on things like carpeting instead of hardwood floors or two-and-a-half baths instead of three. When viewing homes, remember to keep an open mind and that many parts of a home can be changed after the closing papers have been signed.

Know What You Can Buy

If the buyer isn’t purchasing the home with cash, a home loan is essential. However, getting approved for a loan can take more time than the buyer would want, slowing down the process. Getting preapproved for a loan before looking for a home is essential because preapproval will mean the buyer doesn’t have to wait for approval later. Getting preapproved also grants the buyer written proof that they can borrow a set amount of money, which they can show the seller as part of their offer to show that they are prepared.

Come in Strong With All Offers

Under normal circumstances, buyers interested in homes in Dilworth may want to be conservative with their offer to save money. However, in a seller’s market, being conservative with offers can mean losing the home. For a buyer to make their offer appealing, they need to make it the best it can be right off the bat. Buyers can do this by offering more money, keeping contingencies to a minimum, being preapproved for a loan, and so on. 

Offer Sellers Contingency Options for Non-Price Factors

Eager sellers give serious consideration to buyers who offer up contingencies for their benefit, such as non-price factors that typically speed up the selling transaction process. Some ways to approach this in a hot market are:

  • Limiting inspections to 3 to 5 days
  • Waiving contractual financing contingencies
  • Placing larger earnest money deposits
  • Being flexible with deadlines and dates

Something as small as allowing a seller more time to vacate can make a huge difference in their willingness to accept an offer—even if to buyers without the highest bid. Essentially, make any contingencies in the contract favourable to the seller (as long as they work for you) to boost the odds of securing a deal in a seller’s market.

Don’t Hesitate, Act Fast

While buying a home is a life-changing decision that requires a lot of thought, the easiest way to lose a home in a competitive market is by waiting too long. While the circumstances may not be ideal, homebuyers need to make a snap decision to have a chance at buying the home. If they can imagine themselves living in the home and it meets all of their essential criteria, those are the signs to put in an offer.

Buying in a seller’s market can be tricky for buyers who aren’t sure what they should be doing, but by following these X tips, they can make the task a little easier on themselves. 

Dave Kotler

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