The Saturday morning open home run is somewhat a right of passage if you’re entering the house-hunting scene and looking to buy your next home.
In Brisbane, it is standard practice for real estate agents to advertise their listings as open for inspection on Saturday and even on Sundays, depending on how the market is tracking.
But if you’re a savvy buyer, you will soon realise that playing a part in this Saturday selling game, or Game Day as I like to call it isn’t always the best way to find your dream home.
Here’s why:
Reason Number 1.
The property you want probably won’t be included in the open house list.
Why?
Because most selling agents who sell high-end or luxury homes reserve these types of homes for private inspections only.
The sellers of these homes are not always prepared to open their home to the general public due to privacy reasons.
Let’s be honest, if you owned a $10 Million dollar mansion on the Brisbane River, you probably wouldn’t want just any sticky beak or nosy neighbour wandering through your personal space.
And since these types of properties are usually on the larger side, it can be difficult for an agent to manage an open home, let alone play security guard at the same time.
Reason Number 2.
The very best and most exclusive homes rarely hit the open market.
You have to hunt them down and secure them through other means.
Some of the most lucrative home purchases I have made on behalf of clients have been secured in an off-market capacity.
This means the property was never openly advertised to the public or listed online on realestate.com.au.
I found it through my local agent network or I targeted specific houses in a tightly-held areas of Brisbane, looking for homes that match my client’s Brief.
Reason Number 3.
If it’s a truly desirable home, it will be snapped up by another Buyer before Saturday.
As the saying goes, snooze you lose, and this certainly applies in the game of high-end real estate.
If your dream home does happen to be listed online and advertised as open for inspection on the coming weekend, you probably need to act fast. Quality properties don’t last, even in a slower market.
You can bet that your dream home may in fact be somebody else’s dream home, and if they happen to be in the throws of negotiating an offer before you even have a chance to call the sales agent, you may risk losing the perfect home.
In this instance, my advice to buyers is to take action steps sooner rather than wait for the open house inspection.
I always call the agent directly to see if there is an opportunity to see the home prior to the Saturday open time and in most cases, I am granted an early inspection.
Having the right contacts in the Brisbane market helps, especially if the selling agent is busy during the week and pushes buyers who they don’t know or have yet to qualify, to the open house slot. They do this to save their time.
Remember, a Dream Home purchase is a big deal.
Don’t chance it by doing what all the other buyers are conditioned to do – which is wait for the weekend to inspect homes that every other buyer in the market will be lining up to step inside.
Rather than be herded through a property like cattle, push for a private inspection on your timeline.
At this end of the market, it is a luxury you deserve.
To engage Wendy Russell as your Luxury Buyer’s Agent – BOOK A CHAT.