Want to buy your first property, but feel like something is stopping you from buying a home?
You know it’s the right time to break free from your parents (or the renting cycle) but you’re also worried about interest rates and the state of the property market.
Is it really the right time to buy a home?
Here we examine some of the fears you may have a buyer and suggest ways to overcome them.
The Fear of Missing Out
Good old FOMO often makes an appearance when you’re getting ready to buy, depending on market conditions at the time.
When we saw falling interest rates and rising house prices during COVID, buyers were afraid of being priced out. Buyers acted with urgency due to their fear of missing out a property. Properties were snapped up quickly with buyers aggressively outbidding each other, just to secure something.
According to the REA Group, there seems to be a sense of urgency that’s starting to creep into buyer thinking.
Increased listings are being met by buyer demand. Growing expectations of interest rates cuts are igniting concerns that property prices may head upwards again soon.
The Fear of Better Options
Instead of acting quickly in fear of missing out on buying a home altogether, some buyers hold off, waiting for a better property to come along.
The thing is though, no home is ever perfect – even if you plan on building it yourself!
In the vast majority of cases, when it comes to choosing the right home, there will be some compromises. This is why it can be helpful to have a list of non-negotiable “must haves”, accompanied by a list of “it would be nice, but not necessary” home features.
It’s important to remember properties can be improved too. You can renovate the kitchen, or change the tiles in the bathroom over time.
If you keep waiting for the absolutely perfect home to present itself, you may find it never comes.
The Fear of Overpaying
Look, no one wants to overpay for a house. But sometimes it’s easy to get caught up in trying to get a bargain. You don’t want to miss out on buying a home that ticks all the boxes (or 90% of them), all over a thousand dollars for example.
We’d never suggest you pay more than what you can afford, more than what the property is worth, or more than your pre-approved purchase limit.
But if you’ve been seriously house hunting for a year now and you still can’t find something you like for the right price, it may be time to let go of your fear of overpaying and realise that’s what you need to spend to buy the type of home you’re after.
It might also help to think about timeframes here. If you’re planning on living in the property over the long term, do you think a few extra thousand now will mean much in ten years?
The Fear of Not Getting your Loan Approved
This one we can help you with!
Before you start house hunting, reach out to our team to understand what your borrowing options are.
Having a pre-approval in place means a lender has reviewed your financial situation, before you start making any offers.
A pre-approval allows you to act quickly if you want to, but also helps to cap your upper purchase limit so you can’t spend more than what can afford.
