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If you’re looking to buy or sell the most important thing to do is tap into the expertise of real estate agents.
PRDnationwide agent Michelle Wilcox has been a real estate agent for the past seven years helping hundreds of her clients buy or sell their property in that time.
Her advice for potential buyers is to talk to as many agents as possible.
“Talk to a lot of agents and let them know what you’re looking for,” she said.
“One of my clients bought their last house before it was on the market and they are now back in touch to try and do that again.
“You can beat the competition getting in before it hits the market.”
However, knowing what you want depends on what you want to achieve.
If you’re looking to renovate and sell you need to ensure the home is in a big growth area and has the potential to turn a profit.
Whereas if you’re looking for a rental property you should take into account what services are nearby like shops, transport and parks plus the potential return on investment from renting.
If you’re looking to live in the home for the long term, the demographic of the area will be important.
“Agents can provide reports on each suburb, what the growth is like down to the age and demographic of people living there,” Ms Wilcox said.
When you’re ready to put in an offer there are a lot of things to take into account before you settle on a figure.
“If you know something is going to be hugely popular don’t go in too low, be confident with the offer because if there's competition and you low ball, even if you’re willing to come up, the owners could get offended and move on to the next buyer and you’ll miss out,” Ms Wilcox said.
“If the house has been on the market for a while and there’s not much competition, you could try and give it a shot lower as you can always go up from there.”
On the other end of the spectrum when you’re looking to sell Ms Wilcox offers this sound advice.
“Houses that go on the market in winter get the genuine buyers through, buyers are there all year round there is just not as much on the market so less competition.”