5 Minute Read.
Types of Home Buyers
Your housing preferences undergo changes every few decades, shaped by the current stage of life you find yourself in.
Generally, homebuyers can be categorized into several groups, with the most prominent segments being first-time homebuyers, second-time homebuyers seeking a family home, and retirees often referred to as empty nesters or downsizers.
The under 30’s (first home buyers) like to be located in and around the CBD for work and social living. Since prices are high, they normally opt for apartments and small units around inner city suburbs.
30 to 50 year olds (second home buyers) need properties that can house a growing family. Usually located in mid or outer suburbs of Melbourne.
Being close to good schools, employment and shops is vital for time-poor parents.
The 50+ year olds are usually consolidating their finances and downsizing their property.
Striving to meet their real estate needs by prioritizing proximity to family, they seek low-maintenance living that provides a well-balanced lifestyle and social interaction, all within close reach of amenities.
Getting the right advice
At every life stage, it is crucial to make prudent financial decisions when purchasing property. A misstep in this regard can impede your lifestyle and diminish your overall quality of living.
At times, you may be unsure of your needs when acquiring property for the next stage of life because you haven’t experienced it yet.
When you start exploring your options, it’s a good idea to get advice from folks who’ve been through it. They can share awesome tips that help guide you in the right direction.
The most appealing aspect of getting this kind of assistance is transferring the responsibility to someone else. A buyer’s agent can lead you through the entire buying process.
Avoid The Traps When Buying Property
Securing the perfect property without the fear of missing out and managing interactions with real estate agents can pose a significant challenge in the process of buying.
Issues like:
- Understanding the local marketplace and aligning your buying strategy with its dynamics is crucial. Is it an area where auctions are prevalent, or do real estate agents prefer private negotiations?
- How to compete with other bidders during auctions or a private bidding scenario and win.
- Dealing with phantom bidders. During a negotiation real estate agents use tactics to increase the sale price, they call it a vendor bid during an auction or introduce a made-up second buyer / bidder during a private negotiation.
- Getting reliable information from real estate agents. Real estate agents choose to not know too much about the properties they sell. Why? They’re worried about liability. Buyer’s agents conduct the right due diligence on each property they purchase to help uncover anything that’s been swept under the carpet.
- Overpaying for property. Knowing the market value of a property and setting a walk-away price in the heat of negotiation, avoids mistakes and rash, emotional decisions.
- Missing out on your dream property. Many buyers go though the whole process of finding the right property, and then miss out at the point of auction, many times over. This side of buying property is the emotional roller coaster that most buyers experience. It fatigues buyers and puts them through a journey of forever looking and never buying.
- Attending auctions. The pressure and build up of attending auction is all designed to make a buyer feel uncomfortable and make decision that are not rational.
Buyer agents can step in and handle the entire process on your behalf. Acting as intermediaries between you and real estate agents, they exclusively represent your interests.
What jobs do buyer’s agents do?
Recommend Properties:
They source property listings that match your buying criteria. It sounds easy enough to suggest property but no two properties are the same. An experienced property buyer can pick out listings that can generate a higher level of capital growth next to common property that can be sluggish over decades.
They also have access to silent listings, real estate that is ‘for sale’ that is not publicly advertised.
Property Inspection:
Our qualified buyer’s agents will assess your selected properties, offering comprehensive video footage with commentary throughout the inspection.
This will provide insights into the structural integrity, anticipated maintenance needs, and we go the extra mile by employing a drone to examine the roof and assess how neighboring properties may impact the home.
- Establishing a market value based on local, comparable properties that have sold within the last 6 months.
- Estimate costing of any necessary repairs or bringing a property up to an expected standard.
- Develop a bidding plan/strategy for a private negotiation or auction.
Negotiation
Real estate agents are professional negotiators that sell houses every week. They understand how to achieve a maximum price for their customers, the property seller. They practice the art of negotiation and are trained by the heads of their business networks in keeping their skills up-to-date.
TOP 5 TIPS FOR DOWNSIZING YOUR PROPERTY
- Things you can’t live without. Rank them from most important to least important. The top three would be your must-have list for your next property.
- Future needs: For retirees, consider three essential aspects for the long term as your personal circumstances evolve. Factors such as healthcare, proximity to lifestyle amenities, or wheelchair access should be among your considerations.
- Decluttering can help you visualise your future needs: Get rid of things you haven’t used in years and de-clutter where you currently live to help you see what you need. Once you’re in the grove of getting rid of the relics, you will quickly find a pile of other old things for your second garage sale.
- Map out the floor plan of where you’ll live and cut off the areas least used.
Examine the floor plan of your existing home and identify areas and spaces dedicated to storing unused items.
Consider your future needs, such as eliminating a staircase, opting for a European laundry instead of a full-sized room, reducing the size of the kitchen, eliminating a high-maintenance backyard, or getting rid of a tool shed.
- Focus on where your family and friends live: social isolation can be a difficult barrier to overcome when you’re a senior. It’s important to plan for the future and make sure it’s not too difficult to have those you care about nearby.
The perfect property or the goal of buying for a downsizers should be enhancing quality of living. It shouldn’t be inconvenient, carry a financial burden or put you in a place of social isolation.
If you’re a future retiree looking at buying your last home, Wise Real Estate Advice specialises in taking the time to make sure we help you purchase the right property for your future needs.
For a free consultation on how we can help, leave your details on the form below.
