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How to Buy a House in Melbourne in 2025: A Buyers Advocate’s Step-by-Step Guide

Buy the right property at the right price—without the stress.

How to Buy a House in Melbourne in 2025: A Buyers Advocate’s Step-by-Step Guide

Buying a home in Melbourne should feel exciting—not overwhelming. As buyers advocates in Melbourne, we help first-home buyers, upsizers and investors cut through noise, avoid overpaying, and secure the right property with confidence. Use this playbook to buy like a pro: suburb strategy, airtight due diligence, precise pricing, and elite negotiation/auction tactics—end to end.



1) Get Finance-Ready (The Smart Way)

Understanding what you can afford is the very first step in buying your house.

  • Talk to a Mortgage Broker: to understand how much a bank/lender will lend you.

  • Mortgage Repayment: use one of our mortgage calculators to understand what your monthly repayment is

  • Model a safe budget: stress-test repayments at +2% interest and include insurance, council rates, body corporate fees, water rates, and a maintenance buffer.

  • Pre-approval first, inspections second: real pre-approval strengthens offers and auction readiness.

  • Stamp duty & concessions: use the Victorian State Revenue Office calculators for land transfer (stamp) duty, concessions and land tax before you start shortlisting.


Need help sorting lending options? We'll connect you with independent brokers (no fees to you) who understand Melbourne's property market and timelines.

Tip: Duty, concessions and thresholds change. Always confirm on SRO before you commit. State Revenue Office

2) Shortlist Suburbs Like a Pro (Not by Headlines)

We prioritise streets and pockets with enduring appeal: school zones (e.g., Camberwell High, Glen Waverley, McKinnon, Balwyn), rail and tram access, proximity to jobs and health hubs, and liveability corridors (Inner East, Bayside, Inner North, select South-East growth nodes). The goal: assets future buyers and tenants will compete for.


What we Analyse:

  • True comparable sales (not price guides from agents)

  • Days on market & stock depth

  • Micro-factors: street noise, streetscape, sun, slope, parking

  • etc


3) See More Than the Portals (Off-Market Access)

Public sites (realestate.com.au, Domain) are only part of the market. Our buyers agents work private agent lists to surface off-market and pre-market opportunities across suburbs like Hawthorn, Kew, Glen Waverley, Brighton, Brunswick, Carnegie, Bentleigh, Williamstown, Mornington Peninsula—often with less competition and cleaner terms.


4) Do the due diligence that actually protects you

Before you bid or sign:

  • Section 32 (Vendor’s Statement) review: title, easements, services, planning, notices, OC/strata details. You must see this before you sign. Consumer Affairs Victoriavictorianpropertysettlements.com.au

  • Building & pest inspections: structure, moisture, roof/subfloor, termites (higher risk near green corridors).

  • Apartments/townhouses: audit the Owners Corporation—sinking fund, levies, upcoming capital works.


5) Real Estate Sales Method Mastery (Auction vs Private Sale)

Different method of sales have different rules and demand different strategies to win it without overpaying. In Melbourne, the main ones are Auction, Best and Final Offer, Private Sale, Expression of Interest (EOI).

Winning at Auctions (very Melbourne):

  • No cooling-off; be 100% due-diligenced and finance-ready.

  • Expect to pay a 10% deposit on the day (unless negotiated beforehand).

  • Set a price ceiling and let a professional bidder control tempo and psychology. Cooling-off rights don’t apply to auctions (or for three business days before/after). Consumer Affairs Victoria

  • Read our Auction Winning Guide: Understand the tricks and learn the skills needed to win auctions.

Winning at Private Sale / EOI:


6) Price With Precision, Not Hope

Your offer price is critical to your success. Not only for the house at hand, it also tells the agent how much you should be respected when you next cross paths. Our price strategy triangulate:

  1. Recent, relevant comparables (same land/position/condition; last 6–12 weeks where possible),

  2. Micro-adjustments (school zone, transport, street appeal), and

  3. Live campaign intel (contracts out, competing interest, agent strategy).That’s how we set tight ceilings and avoid overpaying.


7) Negotiate Like a Buyers Advocate

Would low-ball offers work? You will hope so. We hate hope. We like certainty. Certainty that we will buy it, certainty that we will not overpay for it.

  • Lead with evidence (not opinions).

  • Use terms as currency: settlement timing, deposit structure, rent-backs, inclusions.

  • Leverage using a third party negotiator against the agent. We explain why.

  • Keep emotions out; keep process discipline in. (We’ll do that for you.)


8) Lock Down the Legals & Ace the Settlement

  • Engage a conveyancer/solicitor early to review the contract of sales and manage searches, transfer and settlement.

  • Arrange insurance before settlement; complete a final inspection within 14 days of settlement; confirm funds via your conveyancer’s trust account.

Partners: We coordinate trusted conveyancers, inspectors and brokers to keep things in check.


9) True total cost of ownership

Budget beyond the price: stamp duty, conveyancing, building/pest, lenders fees, insurance, council/water rates, OC/strata (if applicable), and planned maintenance (older Californian bungalows, 50s–70s brick blocks, period homes). Use SRO calculators for duty & land tax modelling. State Revenue Office


Melbourne Home-Buying FAQs

How much deposit do I need?

20% avoids LMI; some lenders accept 5–10% with LMI. Pair pre-approval with a clear buffer strategy.


Do I get a cooling-off period?

Usually yes for private sales (3 business days); no for auctions and for purchases within three business days before/after an auction campaign. Consumer Affairs VictoriaAustLII


Can I make an offer before auction?

Often yes. Your leverage depends on genuine comparables, days on market and vendor readiness. We’ll advise if a pre-auction strike is prudent.


Do first-home buyers get help?

Check current SRO guidance for duty exemptions/concessions and the First Home Owner Grant for eligible new homes. Rules change—verify before acting. State Revenue Office


Why buyers choose Concierge Buyers Advocates

  • Melbourne Specialists with deep suburb & street-level intel (Inner East, Bayside, Inner North, South-East, selected growth corridors)

  • Off-market access and priority previews through trusted agent networks

  • Strong Price Strategy & Risk Management (Section 32, overlays, building red flags, strata health)

  • Elite Negotiation & Auction Bidding so you don’t overpay

  • Independent, Fixed fees—no developer kickbacks, ever


Virtual BA (DIY with support): Buyers Buddy


Next steps

  1. Book a free strategy session with a licensed Melbourne buyers agent

  2. We’ll clarify your brief, budget and timeline, then build a targeted suburb shortlist

  3. We inspect, price, due-diligence, negotiate/bid to win, and manage you through to keys-in-hand

Ready to buy with confidence? Let Concierge Buyers Advocates do the heavy lifting while you enjoy the result. Book now.

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