John McGrath – Best buying tips for this Spring season

We’re in the thick of the Spring selling season now. This week is set to be the biggest auction week of the year so far, with CoreLogic estimating that more than 3,000 homes will go under the hammer.

In the first month of this Spring season, we saw the highest number of new listings come onto the market since 2021. This has given buyers more choice and as expected led to softening auction clearance rates.

As usual, new listing volumes will hit a seasonal peak in November, before tapering off in the weeks leading up to Christmas and the summer holidays.

If you’re out there looking to buy this Spring, here are my best tips for bidding at auction – or trying to buy beforehand – as well as how best to negotiate a private sale.

My best tips for buying at auction

•Prepare yourself by attending some auctions to observe auctioneers’ techniques and buyers’ bidding strategies

•Don’t be afraid to start the auction. Make a low first bid then sit tight, size up your competition and watch how the auction unfolds

•Unless it’s going to pass in, don’t bid again until the reserve price has been met

•When it’s close to the end, resume bidding. Project confidence with fast and assertive bids

•Call out the full price, not the increment, to give your competitors a reality check

•If it’s going to pass in, be the highest bidder. The agent will likely offer you the first opportunity to negotiate after the event

•Stick to your walk-away price. Short-lived disappointment is better than long-term remorse

My best tips for buying before auction or via private treaty

•Ask the agent if the vendors are willing to consider pre-auction offers

•Make your first offer close to your walk-away price and put it in writing

•Waive your right to a cooling-off period to prove you’re serious

•Don’t say anything negative about the home. Vendors are influenced by their emotions, too!

•As negotiations progress, ask the agent if you can sweeten your offer with any special terms that might suit the vendors’ circumstances, such as a shorter or longer settlement. Such trade-offs are a flexible way to add value to the deal without raising your price

•Choose an odd number for your final offer. For example, offer $973,500 instead of $975,000. This implies that you’re basing your offer on some objective criteria. It also implies that you’re at your financial limit and have no more to spend

•Attaching a cheque to a signed contract makes your offer a lot more seductive to the vendor

Finally, keep in mind that fate can play a hand in finding the right new home or investment.

In my 40 years of real estate, I’ve seen many underbidders walk away miserable only to find a more suitable property just a few weeks later.

If you miss a property – or even several properties, accept that it wasn’t meant to be and look forward to finding something better soon.

Good luck!