Melbourne homebuying and selling tricks to make and save you money

Melbourne homebuyers and sellers could be dudding themselves out of hundreds of thousands of dollars and even millions in some areas by mistiming their next home move.

And while property experts warn you shouldn’t lose sight of the lifestyle reasons behind your real estate plans, they have revealed what you need to do on both sides of the equation to make your money go further.

Professional auctioneer Andy Reid said while selling your home in the wrong month could cost you significantly, reflected in new data from Ray White’s economics team, buying in the same timeline could even that out.

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But options to remedy signing up with a dodgy real estate agent were more limited.

Mr Reid advised spending a few months watching your local sellers in action, getting a feel for how they act outside of selling homes – such as if you see them being rude to wait staff at a local cafe, and what prices homes they advertise actually sell for.

“The key stat you have to pay attention to is the percentage of a price drop from their first listing to being sold, as that will identify agents who buy their way into a listing with an inflated price to start with,” Mr Reid said.

He also said it was time to reconsider spring, unless your home really had an aspect that would benefit from that time of year – including the buyer’s motivations, as if your home was in a good school zone aiming to sell in October could help it connect with emotionally motivated families thinking about the next school year.

“But if there’s no other restrictions, then I would look at listing in February to get to buyers before the masses, so going to auction in the first week of March — or even in late February,” Mr Reid said.

Sellers should also think about the time spent preparing your home for sale as an investment, as every hour you put into that process would likely have a pay-off at the end.

“Any moment that you feel you can’t be bothered, think about the dollar value of any effort you make at that time,” the auctioneer said.

Finally, considering when you run inspections at your home could be key. Avoiding times when there is high traffic, lots of local noise or any regular unpleasant smells in your neighbourhood could help avoid buyers budgeting less for your property.

For buyers, Cohen Handler buyer’s advocate Nicole Jacobs said getting your finance approved as soon as possible was vital.

That could include up to six months of financial preparation work, such as cancelling subscriptions and watching your spending, if you expect to need to borrow heavily to buy your desired home.

“And there’s no use going out and looking if you don’t know your budget,” Ms Jacobs said.

Once that’s confirmed, she advised a few months of “leg work” which includes learning if there was any variance from price guides to what homes actually sold for in your preferred areas, attending auctions to get a feel for them and local agents, as well as getting a sense of the sorts of homes that would be available regularly — and which ones would not.

“And pick key areas, so you don’t go all over town looking,” Ms Jacobs said.

“It will help to understand why you are buying and what you need to achieve. So start with a shopping list, and work out if that is achievable.”

While settling a purchase over a longer timeline could help you gain equity before you start paying the mortgage, the buyer’s agent said using a fast settlement to win over a seller could potentially help you secure a cheaper purchase and lower mortgage.

“Melbourne is undervalued at the moment and by and large I expect it to rise,” Ms Jacobs said.

However, she warned this could differ with some micro-pockets potentially remaining flat.

“But, if you have the ability to buy now and sell later, that can absolutely be a good move,” she said.

WHEN TO SELL: MEDIAN PRICES ARE HIGHEST

January – 36 suburbs, including: Caulfield, Ringwood East, Watsonia North

February – 71 suburbs, including: Abbotsford, Park Orchards, Werribee

March – 104 suburbs, including: Berwick, Reservoir, Yarraville

April – 50 suburbs, including: Broadmeadows, McCrae, Tarneit

May – 53 suburbs, including: Balwyn, Moorabbin, Vermont South

June – 27 suburbs, including: Blackburn, Hillside, Yarrambat

July – 12 suburbs, including: Albert Park, Eltham, Wattle Glen

August – 17 suburbs, including: Burnside Heights, Malvern, Wantirna South

September – 36 suburbs, including: Docklands, Essendon, Tullamarine

October – 51 suburbs, including: Bentleigh, Lilydale, Williamstown

November – 43 suburbs, including: Canterbury, Elwood, Thornbury

December – 37 suburbs, including: Coburg North, Oakleigh, South Yarra

Tracks which month median house prices were most consistently at their lowest level across the past 10 years

Source: Ray White

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