Why First Home Buyers Struggle to Buy Their Homes – and How to Overcome It

Buying your first home is an exciting milestone, but for many first-time buyers, the journey feels more like an uphill battle. From skyrocketing property prices to fierce competition and complex processes, it’s no surprise that many aspiring homeowners struggle to secure their dream home fast enough.

But don’t worry— our Melbourne buyers advocates will show you ways to turn the tide in your favor.

Let’s explore the challenges first home buyers face and how you can take control of your home-buying journey.

What Challenges Do First Home Buyers Face?

1. Rising Property Prices

In many parts of Australia, house prices have surged beyond expectations, making it harder for first-home buyers to save a deposit. With property values increasing faster than wages, many buyers feel like they’re constantly chasing a moving target.

2. Intense Competition

First-home buyers are often competing with seasoned investors and upsizers or downsizers who have larger budgets and greater negotiating power. With limited housing stock, properties in prime locations get snapped up quickly, leaving many first-home buyers missing out.

3. Complex and Overwhelming Process

From securing pre-approval and understanding government grants to navigating contracts and inspections, the process can be overwhelming. Without proper guidance, many buyers feel lost, delaying their progress or making costly mistakes. Best and Final Offer, Auction, Closed Auction, Boardroom Auction, Fixed Date Sale, Sell by Set Date, Private Treaty, Private Sale, etc, are some of the popular sales methods. While they may sound similar, there are enough nuances to set them apart, and each has its own way of navigating, so you avoid overpaying and have the right risk mitigation processes.

4. Choosing the Wrong Property

First-time buyers often hesitate because they fear making a bad financial decision. This hesitation can lead to missed opportunities as well-prepared buyers swoop in and secure properties with confidence.

The biggest problem first home buyers faced is:

5. Not Understanding the True Value of the Property

This is by far, the biggest issue first home buyers face. They lack the market experience, exposure and due diligence know-how to ascertain the true value of the property they want to buy. They are also unable to assess what other buyers are willing to pay, leading to them low-balling the properties, and hurting their chances of ever having their offers presented to the vendor. Not understanding the value of the property, also leads them into fearing they might overpay for the property they like and thus, forces them to be conservative with the offer and thereby losing out to other buyers.

How First-Home Buyers Can Improve Their Success

While the challenges are real, there are ways to fast-track your property purchase and make smarter decisions along the way.

1. Get Your Finances in Order Early

Start by saving aggressively for your deposit and reducing unnecessary expenses. Speak to a mortgage broker to understand your borrowing capacity and secure pre-approval before house hunting. This puts you in a strong position to act quickly when the right property comes along. If you need to talk to a mortgage broker, our network of free mortgage advisors can help you understand your serviceability and apply for a pre-approval, so you can buy with certainty.

2. Take Advantage of Government Grants and Schemes

The First Home Owner Grant (FHOG), First Home Guarantee, and stamp duty concessions can make a significant difference to your budget. Research what’s available in your state and ensure you meet the eligibility criteria to maximize your savings.

Depending on the mechanics of the schemes some helps reduce your upfront mortgage deposit, some reduces the stamp duty payments, while other gives you an added boost in serviceability, in exchange for the government owning a portion of your property.

3. Expand Your Search Criteria

Many first-home buyers fixate on specific suburbs, limiting their options. Consider looking at surrounding areas that offer growth potential, better affordability, and strong rental demand if you ever decide to rent it out in the future.

4. Get Expert Support with a Buyer’s Advocate

A professional buyer’s advocate, like Concierge Buyers Advocates, can make the home-buying process faster, easier, and less stressful. They provide expert market insights, handle negotiations, and ensure you don’t overpay. Most importantly, they help you find and secure the right property before your competition does. While the buyers advocates fees might seem expensive, they do help you:

1. Understand the value of the property

2. Understand what your options are

3. Understand other locations you can consider

4. Understand the various sales methods and navigate them successfully for you

5. Negotiate and navigate the sales strategy to save tens of thousands of dollars

6. Buy fast and with less stress

Most importantly, by successfully understanding the above they can help you save tens of thousands off the property price. On average we save our buyers between $20k-50k per property.

5. Be Prepared and Act Decisively

We couldn't say it more... Do your homework. Once you’ve done your research, trust your preparation and be ready to act when the right opportunity presents itself. In the current Melbourne property market, prices are already starting to move upwards. The longer you wait, the more prices can rise, making it even harder to enter the market.

The Bright Side: Your Homeownership Dream is Within Reach

While the journey to buying your first home can feel daunting, remember that every successful homeowner started somewhere. By being proactive, well-prepared, and seeking expert guidance, you can navigate the market with confidence and secure your dream home sooner than you think.

Many first home buyers have bought their first homes. So can you.

It is only a matter of time. Do you want to buy fast and buy with confidence? Or would you want to learn the hard way and spend up to a year of more navigating the search, research and sales process?

At Concierge Buyers Advocates, we’re dedicated to helping first-home buyers like you achieve homeownership faster and with less stress. Whether it’s finding the right property, negotiating a great deal, or guiding you through the process, we’re here to make your dream a reality. Our strict qualification process has ensured we only offer our services to first home buyers who can buy and we've been 100% successful in helping them.

Yes, all of our first home buyer client have bought their dream home. No one else in the industry can lay claim to this.

Don’t let the challenges hold you back—take the first step towards homeownership today!

Get in Touch for a Free First Home Buyer Consultation