How to be a Power Buyer

Demand for property is hitting record highs every month, so it is more important than ever to be noticed by sellers from the get-go if you want to land your dream property. Here’s how you can do just that.

How to stand out from the crowd

Sellers are in a prime position in Sussex’s property market right now and will be for the foreseeable future, with rising prices and numerous offers for every listed property. Historically, you might have been able to start negotiations by placing a lower-than-standard offer, but not anymore. If you do that in today’s market, sellers won’t look twice. It is therefore crucial to begin talks with a firm bid to grab their attention, so they know you mean business and won’t be wasting their time.

Getting your Mortgage In Principle (MIP) sorted is also vitally important. Knowing your budget and affordability, what brokers will lend you, and having your deposit ready and waiting will make it much easier for agents to put your offer to their sellers in confidence. You can be sure that other buyers on the market will have their MIP prepared, so you need to do the same.

List your own property before looking to buy

Because the market is so incredibly competitive, chances are that most people looking to buy will put their current home on the market before looking to purchase a new property in an attempt to speed up the whole process. Therefore, if two identical or similar offers are submitted, but only one buyer has put their current home on the market, you can bet that the buyer who has listed their property will be the one to have their offer accepted. In short, the more complete your property journey is, the more complete the seller’s journey is.

Being a buyer with no chain is a dream scenario. This means you don’t have a property to sell. While this is a rarity for existing homeowners, it is favourite for tenants whose contract is shortly coming to an end. Guaranteed signing dates are very attractive to sellers because the possibility of a deal falling through is much less than when signing with homeowners who are yet to sell their current residence. As a homeowner, you could avoid this by agreeing the sale of your home before entering buying negotiations, but that’s a risky game to play.

Or, you could be a cash buyer. This is arguably the best position to be in because, whether you’re a tenant or a homeowner, having the cash ready dramatically drops the possibility of a deal collapsing on your part. You won’t need to speak to any mortgage advisors and the vast majority of buyers won’t hesitate to accept your offer – even if it’s a few thousand pounds less than the biggest they’ve received.

What will the market look like at the end of 2022?

This year’s Sussex property market has been unpredictable so far, with the first price drops coming after months of consecutive rises. Demand, though, remains sky-high and there are still not enough properties on the market to match it in many areas of the country, so we will likely have to wait for winter to arrive before there’s a realistic chance of prices falling nationwide.

 

Looking to sell or buy a property in Sussex? Want to use property experts you can trust? Contact your local branch or book your free house or property valuation today!