Sorry, but I feel like it has to be said *with love*.

In the current Perth property market, where on average houses are selling in less than three weeks (all of ours have sold in under two since October 2020), mostly with multiple offers (92% of our sales since 1 July last year), it’s safe to say we’re in a sellers market.

And if you’re a buyer, you need to adjust your tactics accordingly.

I get it. No one wants to feel ripped off or like they’ve overpaid for a property. But if you’re competing against 3, 5 or 8 or more other buyers, the time for playing games with the seller and agent is over.

Sellers look for the easiest route to the result. And once you’re in competition with other buyers, you’ve lost the right to negotiate with the seller one on one.

If you start getting coy about what you’re prepared to pay, load your offer up with conditions or don’t put your genuine best foot forward, expect to miss out.

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And if you give the agent a hard time, they’ll infer you’re going to be difficult to deal with the whole way through and let the seller know that too.

So if you want to be successful:

  • Have your ducks in a row, particularly on finance
  • Get your offer in early
  • Add conditions to cover your butt by all means, but be realistic and remember you’re in competition with other buyers. Offers aren’t just about the price, but conditions too
  • Ditch the ego & be reasonable to deal with
  • Work out the maximum you’re prepared to pay and put forward your genuine best and final offer. That way if you miss out, you’ll know it wasn’t meant to be.

And if you’re doing all this and still missing out, maybe chat to a reputable local agent to see where things might be going wrong for you. It could be that the market is at a different level to where you thought it was and you need to adjust your expectations slightly.

Good luck!

Natalie Hoye is the Founder and Licensee of Red Fox Property Group – a boutique agency doing things differently in the suburbs surrounding Beaufort Street. We call it ‘real estate alchemy’: a genuine blend of science and intuition, marketing and magic, head and heart. The Red Fox Way. And we’d love to chat with you about your local real estate needs. Call us now on 0405 812 273.