If you’re in the real estate market, knowing when to pounce and when to avoid impulse buying can save you a considerable amount of money. When the real estate market slows down, there’s a glut of houses available for sale. The beauty of buying a home during these periods of market decline is that you pay less for the property and you can spend the savings on upgrading its design if you need to.
However, to succeed, you need to be aware of the best tips and tricks on getting the right house price in a downward market. So, keep the following tips in mind as you go house-hunting:
1. Research The Market Well
Although homebuyers tend to have an advantage during a downward market, you shouldn’t start making transactions blindly. To get the right price for a house, invest time in researching the market. An excellent place to begin your research is the internet. Check property listings online about nz house prices and send inquiries to real estate agents or companies. Doing this will enable you to create a pool of reasonably priced houses that you can consider.
2. Talk To Realtors Or Real Estate Agents
Another effective way to get the right house price during a downward market is to negotiate with real estate agents or realtor companies. During off-peak seasons, realtors struggle to close deals. In such situations, most real estate companies or agents become inclined to reduce their commissions to close deals.
As a result, realtors reduce the house listing cost, which favors buyers. Alternatively, talk to credible realtors like those from Ocean City Development and ask them to request a commission reduction from listing agents to seal the deal. This win-win approach favors both the seller and the buyer.
3. Get Your Finances In Order
When you choose to buy a home in a downward market, you need to ensure that you have the financing you need early in the process. The reality is that you won’t be the only one who’ll be hunting for a house during this time of market decline. If you delay in securing the house you have your eye on, there’s a high chance that another person will seal the deal.
Get your finances in order early to ensure that you close the deal as soon as you find a property you like. If you don’t have the money and plan to take a mortgage, talk to your financier and get it pre-approved. Also, place your lawyer on retainer to make the sale closure process smoother.
Besides the financing and legal aspects, ensure that you have an insurance agent and a home inspector on hand. With these professionals, you’ll have access to critical information, including the repairs required and how much it’ll cost you to insure the house.
4. Focus On Motivated Sellers
As you search for a house to buy, you’ll come across sellers who want to sell their homes in a hurry. Focusing on these sellers makes it easy to get the right price because you have extra bargaining power. Leverage such situations to ask the seller to fix the things you don’t like, such as furniture and fittings or mowing the lawn.
You may also negotiate the listing price and ask the seller to shoulder part of or the entire cost of closing the deal. You can identify motivated sellers by looking for signs like the duration that the house has been on the market and the state of the house.
Most motivated sellers have had their houses on the market for a couple of months and reduced the price several times. Also, their homes tend to be empty during viewing—which suggests they already vacated the property and moved to another house.
5. Explore Different Options
To get the right house price in a downward market, be willing to explore different deals before settling down on one. Often, house prices drop as the supply increases. When the real estate market is slow, there are numerous choices for buyers to consider. If you don’t get the deal you’re looking for at the price you want, move on and look at the next option available.
Bear in mind that the downward market favors buyers, not sellers. You’ll most certainly interact with sellers who refuse to accept amounts lower than what they believe their home’s worth. Don’t be distracted by that; these sellers don’t understand the downward market’s impact on housing prices. Stay firm with the price you’ve set for yourself and move on to the next available house on the list if this happens.
Final Thoughts
The best time to buy a home is when there’s a downward real estate market. But even when the market is slow, there’s no guarantee you’ll get the right house price. Applying the five tips discussed above can give you a better chance of getting a home at the price you desire to take advantage of the market decline.
