How to avoid missing out on the property of your dreams

Have you been searching for your dream home for months now? But for some reason, the places are either not-quite-right or you’ve missed out due to a higher offer or bid?

Don’t worry - the right house is out there! However, sometimes you need to alter your mindset or budget slightly. Try not to get frustrated and take this opportunity to re-assess your situation. We’re here to help you out! See below for 3 tips for securing your dream home.

1. Rethink your property type and location

Do you have set criteria in mind, but the properties you’re seeking fail to meet your expectations or are beyond your reach?

For example, you might be looking for a two bedroom townhouse with a grassy backyard in McCrae, but everything seems to have limited outdoor space, an undesirable interior, or is outside your budget. If that’s the case, you need to widen your search. You could seek townhouses in McCrae, or even Rosebud or Dromana, that are close to parks. Or check out two bedroom apartments with a decent-sized shared garden. Try to think outside the box and see what else is around.

If you have your heart set on a particular location, but can’t afford it, try writing down a list of everything you’re looking for. Is it a type of housing? Having good schools nearby? Being close to cafes, shops, and public transport? Start searching for suburbs with those features that are 10 percent lower than your price limit. You never know what beauties are waiting to be discovered!

2. Secure your finances

Before looking for properties, it’s vital to have your finances secured beforehand. There are so many buyers out there who haven’t got this under control and it puts them on the back foot when it comes to putting in an offer.

Shop around, obtain your finance early, and know exactly what you can afford. If your home hunt takes longer than expected, keep in contact with your bank or broker to ensure your loan eligibility remains the same. You then know you’re ready to jump in with an offer the moment you find your perfect home.

3. Be the first to know about new properties

The house market competition can be fierce. And your dream home could be listed for sale and you don’t even know about it!

Rather than browsing through the big real estate websites for hours, there’s an alternative approach you can take - seek off-market housing.

Properties that are off-market haven’t been officially listed, so only a small amount of people become aware of them. In some cases, these properties are discovered via building relationships with real estate agents. In other instances, you can be the first to know about your potential dream home via an invitation from your agent to join an off-market database like Listing Loop.

As a buyer, your agent invites you to join Listing Loop and then you enter what you’re looking for in your dream property. As soon as something suitable comes up, you’ll receive an instant notification via SMS or email. You are also allocated your very own Agent Assist who can answer your questions about the house.

We're here to help

We're always happy to help with all the dramas and stressors of house buying and selling.

And if you're particularly tired of house-hunting, we've even partnered with buyer advocates who can check out homes for you and organise sales assessments and negotiations.

Our off-market and pre-market marketplace gives you VIP access to properties so you can get in first.

Just sign up at Listing Loop or download our app.