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The Melbourne property in 2022 was an interesting one. The first half of 2022 was a sellers market, where sellers have the upper hand in a sale. There are more buyers than properties for sale, and that, combined with the low mortgage interest rates pushed prices up 1-2% EVERY MONTH. That's right. Grade A properties in the good areas were rose between 10-12% areas. No one expected the RBA to lift interest rates so quickly and aggressively. Official Cash Rates went from a low 0.1% to 3.1% by Dec 2022. And that caused mortgage rates to more than double, from approx 2.5% to approx 5.5%! This caused an almost instant shift in the property market. Market condition quickly changed from a seller's market to a buyer's market. Towards the end of 2022, vendors who had hold out hoping for a better price panicked. Some rushed their property to the market with realistic pricing and many more started to drop prices. We had been anticipating a rise in interest rates for over a year, and had advised our clients to hold off buying, if there isn't any need to buy. The Melbourne Property market outlook for 2023 If you are thinking of buying properties in 2023, in a cooling (falling) market, you should read this. 2023 is still expected to be a cooling market. At the very least, the first half of 2023 is not likely to offer anything different. Interest rates is still expected to rise. At a much slower pace though. Pain from the high interest is already being felt throughout the economy. People are cutting back from expenses, Businesses can no longer offer to keep staffs, and have started to reduce trading hours, or reduce staffing levels. Speaking to a few business owners, further cost cutting are planned for early next year. And that can include staff reduction. So, the economy in the first half of 2023 is starting to look "cloudy" and uncertain. RBA will have no choice but to look into stopping the series of rate hikes, and potentially start to wind back interest rates by end of the year. Depending on how back each individual property buyer is, interest is expected to pick up again. What should you buy in 2023? We wish there is a one-size fits all answer to this question. This will make our buyers advocates' life so much easier. And if there is all we need a single cookie cutter solution for everyone. Life isn't simple, and buying your home or investment property is at least 10 times more difficult. Every property has a different goal, and every property is different, even if they are next to each other. The best way to answer this question is: Look at what you need, to create a property portfolio that works for you? First, the good news. Good buys are already surfacing, and if you search hard enough, you will find one that is beneficial in your portfolio. but not many people know what to look for and not everyone has access to them. 2023 is the best time to buy anything you need to set yourself up for success. As a buyer, you should always be buying the right property that will set yourself up for success. Even if it is going to be your own Principal Place of Residence (PPR). Why? Because, you will need to sell your PPR one day. For that upgrade, downgrade, moving, migrating, kids inheritance, or simply attracting the buyers with good offers. All property buyers should understand that the Melbourne property market is made up of multiple sub markets. While some markets are cooling, some are still on the rise. When our buyers advocates review properties, especially investment grade properties, we categorise them into 3 distinct grades. Grade A - those in blue chip areas, good location, tip-top, move in condition. Grade B - those in lesser locations, and those that are generally in a move-in condition, but can do with some optionaly renovations. Grade C - those in lower socio-economic areas, or need extensive renovations. In the current Melbourne property market condition, while the prices of Grade B and Grade C properties might be falling, you might be expected to pay above asking price for the Grade A properties. Choose an investment property that fits your investment plan and strategy. Whichever you buy, there is definitely going to be lesser competition. Next, the bad news. How prepared are you? In times like this, most buyers prefer to sit back, have some popcorns and watch the consolidating property "shit-show". Most buyers became passive and are waiting for the right time (bottom) to buy. In other words, most are trying to time the market. If you are hoping to wait for "the bottom" and buy at the bottom, you are one of the 95% of the property buying population. Don't see the problem? Afterall, what your mates do, will be right for you, eh? Good Luck. This is your bad news. Why is this the bad news? When the market turns, you will be wrestling with 95% of all other property buyers to buy the property you want. Remember Fear of Missing Out (FOMO)? And, the next bad news? So, you're still undecided. What could be the other bad news? Do you have answers for these? Do you know what you need to set yourself up for success? Here are some of the questions you need to answer: what is your serviceability? how much will a bank / lender lend you? what should you buy? where should you look for them? how should you keep monitoring the marker for them? How do you buy Properties in a Buyer's Market like 2023? Buying in a falling (cooling) market is similar to buying in a booming market. Do your due diligence, find the types of properties you want, and buy. In a falling market, you might have more time to do your due diligence, so, you have less of an excuse not to do it properly. Good properties are still being sold fast, in a falling market though, so, do your due diligence with some urgency. What should you watch out for when Buying Properties in 2023 (a Buyer's Market)? As with buying properties during any other times, watch out for property spruikers. Especially those who claim and insist that off-the-plan apartments will give you the riches you need to retire early... They are just feeding themselves with the huge commissions from the developers. They are the ones who will be retiring early, while you are still paying off your depreciating apartments or trying to dispose them. This is not to say apartments are to be avoided. Apartments are the best for some buyers, and our blog on apartment buying will help explain this. What strategies are best for buying in a Buyer's Market? Buy when you can. Not timing the market. This is the strategy we've asked our successful investors to adopt. Again our strategy varies depending on what we buy. Again, we refer to our 3 property grades: Go for the Grade As if you want something to live in, or to lease out for a premium. Go for the Grade Bs if you want something you can improve, and potentially fetch a higher rent. Go for the Grade Cs if you are a handy person, and you are prepared to get your hands dirty. Do note though, not all repairs or renovation works can be done by a handyman. Electrical works, gas and plumbing works, extension repairs, pergola repairs, etc will need the relevant council permits and has to be done by the relevant licenced contractors. Grade A properties sell fast. And you might even meet with some strong buying competition. Be prepared to make your best offer for it. Our Best and Final Offer Guide will help you understand what you need to prepare for a best and final offer. While auctions are relatively rare in a buyers market, some real estate agents may still choose to sell the property through an auction, either through inexperience, or misguided information. In which case, check out our series of Auction Winning Guides. These are guides curated by our experienced buyers advocates, who each has over 20 years of property buying, selling and investing experience. Grade B and Grade C properties are where you might be able to get a good bargain or discount. However, in a buyers market, most vendors would have lowered their expectations, and reduce their asking price accordingly. Do know how to determine the value of a property, if you are keen to make an offer. Where can you get help to buy in a Buyer's Market? As you would probably know by now. buying a property, especially in the competitive Melbourne market, is no longer as simple as finding one, putting an offer and expect a success. If you are not sure of where and how to buy in 2023, get in touch. Our buyers advocates are available to readily take over your buying headaches. Lastly, Good Luck with your property journey. Wishing you a successful 2023.

Here is our hard to believe property buying success story. We know buying properties with a good Buyer's Advocate is fast and efficient, but this blew us off our own feet. Honestly. Mr Sxxxx., our repeat client, approached us to buy his next investment property. This is his sixth property. As a seasoned property investor, he knows what he wanted, but he did not have the time to research the market for growth potential, yield, and development possibilities. Neither did he enjoy the stress and disappointments from dealing with over-promising property ads and sales agents. ​ After understanding his property brief, and what he wanted, we started our property buying search and purchase process. Within a couple of days we've shortlisted a handful of potentials. ​ Here is our actual property buying timeline for this property in a regional Victoria city: Day 1: 10.30: Inspect the property. 12.00: Received Contract of Sales and Section 32. 13.00: All boxes ticked. Feasibility study and due diligence checked out. 13.30: Showcase the property to client. 14.30: Green light received. 15.30: Offer submitted. ​ Fingers crossed. ​ Day 2: 10.00: Offer accepted. ​ It is also worth noting that all activities during Day 1 was done while we were still on the roads. Our car is our mobile office. Everything was done in our car. We are mobile and that give us the productivity we need to provide a low-cost buyers agency service. That's the trust our returned client has in us. We understood what he wanted, found exactly what he's looking for, in under 2 weeks. ​ When you spot a good buy, this is how fast you need to be. It'll be gone within hours. Literally. ​ We produce results. ​ * Mr Sxxxx doesn't want publicity, but has allowed us to feature his story.

Many are amazed by the power of AI. So we decided to put one of the most popular AI engines to the test on 18 Jan 2023. We asked OpenAI to write a blog about the current Melbourne Property market. And this is how it went: > Write a blog about the current Melbourne property market. The Melbourne property market is booming right now, with strong demand from buyers and rising prices. In recent months, house prices have shot up by as much as 10% in some parts of the city, while apartments have also seen significant increases. The demand for housing in Melbourne is being driven by a number of factors. A strong economy and population growth are both key drivers, with the city’s population expected to exceed five million by 2041. The city’s affordability and liveability are also factors, with Melbourne having some of the most affordable property prices in Australia and consistently ranking highly in global quality of life surveys. The result is that buyers are increasingly looking to the Melbourne property market for their housing needs. This has caused prices to rise rapidly, with some areas seeing double-digit growth in recent months. This has been particularly true for apartments, with demand for inner-city units increasing as people look to take advantage of the city’s vibrant lifestyle. Investors have also been pouring money into the Melbourne property market, with many seeing it as a safe and lucrative option in the current market. Low interest rates and strong rental returns have made investing in the city an attractive proposition, and many investors are taking advantage of the current market conditions. Overall, it’s a great time to be in the Melbourne property market. Prices are rising, and there is strong demand from both buyers and investors. This is likely to continue in the coming months as the city’s population and economy continues to grow. How do you rate this article? How accurate is this AI generated blog: Information presented here is largely generic. If a reader is well read (which most readers are, these days), they would have read these information many times. What is wrong with this AI generated information Melbourne's population has already exceeded 5million. It exceeded 5 million back in 2019, 3 years ago. AI's views re buying apartments is incorrect. Apartments are seldom recommended, if you do not need the convenience. There is a sever oversupply of apartments in Melbourne. So, resale and valuation of apartments are very often a hundred thousand below Median apartment sold prices might have increased, due to the Melbourne government's Zero stamp duties for apartments, and developers aggressively giving incentives for sales agents to sell the left-over new units, and developers giving aggressive cash backs to buyers. In this sense, the AI failed to understand the dynamics that's happening, failed to understand the pricing dynamics and what's happening on the ground, simply because these information IS NOT available in the internet. The AI generated blog doesn't value add to the information. At the time this AI generated the blog (jan 2023), the Melbourne property market is going through a decline, after months of interest rates hikes. Implications for the Buyers Agents using the AI In its current state, if a buyer's agent were to operate without a good understanding of what's happening on the ground, they will be making the wrong recommendations, and ultimately, their clients will be the one suffering. Would you be buying an apartment, because the AI has mentioned it and indirectly recommended it? This is an issue with buyers agents or buyers advocates, buying in states and cities which they are unfamiliar with. Our director and founder, Rayson, holds a PhD in Big Data and has over 30+ years experience in data analytics, data mining and big data, and almost 10 years as buyer's advocates. Here are his views of data and information. Data don't lie. It is true. However, there are problems with this statement: Data is lagging. Data only reflects what HAD happened. It does not necessarily predict the future. How the data is interpreted will lead to what information is derived from the data. Data cannot be interpreted in a stand alone manner. To derive accurate and meaningful information from the data, you will need to overlay the data with what's happening on the ground. And this, unfortunately relies on the skills and experience of the interpreter. Now, the next problem... the notion that "Data Don't Lie" has been abused by the interpreter or sales agents, to CONvince buyers. Thus... you need to be wary of where you get the data and information from and who is presenting them. In some languages such as Hokkien, Artificial Intelligence (AI) is loosely translated into Keh Kiang, which means being a smart ass. And unfortunately in its current state, it is. Let us know what you think of the AI's view of the Melbourne Real Estate Market.

Buying your home can be an exciting phase in your life. It can also be very daunting, especially if it is going to be your first home. Buying a home is no longer as simple as looking through the listings, attending the open for inspections, and making an offer for the property. It is full of complexities. It is possibly the single largest commitment (or liability, if you get it wrong) that you make in your life. In listening to many of our home buying clients, many home buyers are not properly prepared to ensure they do not end up buying a lemon or a dud property. And it is usually not the home buyers fault for being ill prepared. The whole real estate buying process is stacked against the typical buyer. In this article, we have compiled the top 10 common mistakes of a home buyer. We will also give you some facts which you have to know, and some buying tips on how you can avoid them. As most people do not buy more than 3 properties in their lifetime, these mistakes are applicable to both first home buyers and home buyers as well. 1. Not Doing Due Diligence Due diligence? What's that? Home buyers (especially in Victoria) would have heard of the term called "due diligence". But what exactly is this "due diligence" thingy? What should it include? How should you do it? As you would expect, due diligence is complex, and, it is unique to each buyer. It is different for different buyers. It is a topic on its own, which we will cover in the coming weeks. Essentially, just like any thing you buy, it is all about ensuring the property is fit for purpose. Fit for YOUR PURPOSE, not what the real estate vendor agent tells you. Check-in into our blogs in coming weeks for tips on how to do this. 2. Not Doing Enough Property Research and Preparation Most buyers are attracted by the staged photos in real estate websites and glossy brochures. But do you know what isn't mentioned in these sales materials? Do you know what the location is really like? What is around the property? What is the crime rates? Where are the public transport and schools? Will the property be acquired for road expansion or any public works? No two houses are the same, even if they look the same and are right next to each other. Throughout our 20+ years of property buying experience, we've seen countless instances where one property is affected by issues such as flood, contaminated soil, poor quality soil, while the property next door isn't. Do make sure you include these checks in your research, if you are concerned with them. 3. Not Knowing Your Budget, and Not Sticking to Your Budget What is your budget? How much deposit do you have for the purchase? How much will a bank or lender lend you? Will any lender even lend you? How much can you spend on the property? How much are you prepared to pay for the property? How much is the property really worth? Have you factored in other necessary expenses? What is your buffer? We've come across many home buyers who do not have a good idea of what expenses they have to budget for, in a property purchase. It is common to see home buyers start their house search without any idea of their serviceability. Serviceability is how much a bank or lender will lend you. Everyone is different, and your serviceability depends on your income, expenses, assets and liabilities. A good mortgage broker will give you a good idea of what you can borrow, and organise for a lender to pre-approve your lending. When you know your serviceability, you will have an idea of what types of property you should be looking for. But, do you have a good idea of what the property is worth? Many have no idea if the price in the listing is fair, underquoted, or in some cases, over-estimated. This is where it gets complex. One thing which you need to understand, is that, it is the real estate selling agent's job to hype up demand and interest for the property, in order to sell the property at the highest possible price. Their commission is, afterall, pegged to the sold price of the property. The higher they can sell the property for, the higher their commission is. So, if you are easily influenced by the market hype (#5 below), you will more likely than not, believe the selling agents, and you will usually be led into an "invisible, closed auction" over the phone, between 'another interested buyer, after you put in your offer'. Most buyers will end up paying top dollar for the property. Buyers without the right property market insight and advice will often over pay for the property, and some may find themselves unable to service the mortgage in the long run. So, instead of enjoying the new home which they had fought so hard for, they were struggling to afford it. 4. Not Knowing the Full Cost of Buying a House What other expenses do you need to be aware of? Stamp duties, conveyancing fees, buyer's agent fees (if you're using a buyer's advocate to help with your purchase), building and pest inspection fees, mortgage related costs, moving costs, setting up cost, repair or renovation costs, etc. Every property is different, and the individual buyer's needs and wants often dictate what expenses are required. As a guide, these expenses can cost between 5-15% of the property price. The buyer's advocates at Concierge Buyers Advocates can provide you with an idea of costs, if you need one, Make sure you include the relevant ones in your budget and due diligence studies. 5. Being Easily Influenced by the Market In times like these where the media is hyping up the Fear Of Missing Out (FOMO) mentality of property buyers, are you getting frustrated when you keep missing out on properties you like? Were you scared into not buying a property in 2020, because news and 'experts' were predicting 40-60% falls in house prices due to the Coronavirus pandemic? If you do, like most people, you are easily affected by market and media hype and scare campaigns. Read any economics textbooks, and you will know, prices of anything (properties included) are affected by supply and demand. But do you know what cause these supply and demand shifts? Do you know, in the age of internet, supply and demand can be easily influenced by media reports and the fake news on social media? And did you know, social media such as Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, etc, are the biggest disseminator of fake news? - Forbes How do you differentiate facts from fakes? How do you know if a fake news will eventually affect property prices (positively or negatively). Unless you are on the ground and in touch with the happenings in the real estate industry, like a true independent buyer's advocate, you would not know, and would not be able to predict when and how the property market will turn. News from official news outlets are reliable, however, reliable news only report facts. ie, they only report things after they had happened. This means, if you are waiting to read about the next property hotspots from news media, it has already happened. It is already too late. Take for example, in recent weeks, you would have read about properties in regional areas growing by up to 20%. Most people will now start searching for regional properties AFTER they read the news, but it is already too late. Will the regional areas keep rising? Where is the demand and economy to support the continued growth? As truly independent buyer's agents, we buy all around Victoria, regional areas included. We had seen increased demand in regional areas from 2019, prior to the pandemic. So, back in 2019, we forecasted the growth in regional properties. No one believed our predictions. The so-called 'experts' all proclaimed regional properties will NEVER grow more than CPI. But we had bought 12 regional properties from late 2019 to 2020 for our clients. Every single one of them have grown at least 20% in value. One performed beyond our expectation, and had actually grown a massive 55%. This is the example. Buyers who are just preparing to buy into regional areas after reading recent media, will be disappointed. They have missed the boat. Most regional areas have peaked. It is not going to grow too much from here, for the foreseeable future. 6. Not Understanding the Contract of Sales and What you Can or Cannot do A contract of sale is often over 100 pages long. It contains an set of important information which every property buyer should know, as it will affect your purchase decision. But do you ever read everything and understood everything? Do you know what the implications of these legal documents are? How will they affect you and what you intend to do with the property? Do you know what to look for? Buyers Advocates like us read an average of 3 to 5 contract of sales every week. We've seen contracts so convoluted that it rewrites almost every clause of the standard contract. Unless you are in the property or real estate industry, over 80% of the buyers do not understand how they or their decision to purchase can be affected by information contained in these contracts of sales. It is always good to spend a few hundred dollars to have a good lawyer review the contract before you make your decision. Having said that, not all lawyers are the same. A good property lawyer will try to understand what you intend to do with the property, and review the contract with your intent in mind. His/her feedback will be tailored to your needs. 7. Fed-up? Don't buy. So, you've been searching for months, attended hundreds of disappointing open for inspections, and failed to secure your dream home again and again... The selling agents are misleading you, you've been tricked into a good property that seems cheap, but were out-bidded by someone else who had a fatter budget. You're disappointed. You're disheartened. You wanted to give up. You are fed up! At this stage, almost all home buyers tend to commit their biggest sin. They put 'all-in' to buy the next property that come along. This can usually end up as one of their biggest mistake, but they can justify it with their "frustration". It is a mistake that can bite them for years to come. Instead of buying when you're frustrated, rest. Take some time off. If you have been missing on good properties, you are probably looking at the wrong place or have the wrong expectations. Take some time off, do a post-mortem study of your failures, review your criteria, and tweak them to suit the market. Remember, in a hot market, market conditions change every month. Prices would have moved. There could be more (or less) stock available in the market. There could be new regulatory changes, which can affect property prices. It is also probably time to consider engaging a buyer's advocate to help speed up your purchase. In a hot market, each month of delay can mean the property prices would have increased by another 2-5%. Good Buyer's Advocates who knows the market well, will help with your review. They will look at what you want, what you had been looking for, and work with you to tweak your expectations, and help you find your home. They are realistic with their expectations and will also search in places where most people would never have looked at. They have the connections into the genuine off-market properties, to help improve your chances of buying the right property. They do charge a fee of between 2-3% though, but, hey... remember, every month you save in your acquisition is saving you between 2-5% in a hot market. The faster you buy, the more you save. It's a no brainer. If you can just buy your home 1 month faster, you would have recovered the cost of the Buyer's Agent fees. 8. Not organising a Professional Inspection Most buyers are not aware of what you need to do during an open for inspection. Many believed the inspection is just for you to have a look and appreciate the property. They are partly correct. It is to the vendor agent's benefit that you visit and appreciate the property. But you should really look pass the pretty furnitures, beautifully staged beds, dining sets, etc. Furnitures are usually not included in the purchase, in case you're wondering. Picture yourself in the bare house. Do you know what you should be looking for? Do you know what you need in the house? Unless you have been inspecting properties day in and day out, most buyers are there to appreciate the staged presentation during the inspection. They are impressed with how well and glamorous the property is presented. Do you know what's lurking under the carpet? What's in the roof? Do you know what is really underneath the perfectly painted walls? How do you tell if there is an issue with the property in the short 10 mins inspection? Always have the property professionally inspected. And yes, inspections are also recommended for brand new buildings. You'll be surprised how many corners are cut to complete the build. We've seen brand new homes with over 30 pages of defects. At Concierge Buyers Advocates, we are trained builders, and on average we inspect between 50-80 properties a month, and read hundreds of building inspection reports a year. We know what to look for, and we should be looking, during the 10 minutes inspection. At the end of each open for inspection, our experienced buyer's advocate, will usually have a good idea of the condition of the building, and whether the building is worth presenting to our clients. 9. Not Understanding the Real Estate Selling Agent's Role Successful real estate agents are usually the friendliest agent who always seem to understand what you want. But do they really care what you want? Or are they just trying to convince you that you should want the property? Remember, their job is to sell the property. Their commissions are directly proportional to how much they can sell the house for. The more you pay for it, they bigger their commission is. Most home buyers do not realise the selling agents are working for the VENDOR. They work for the SELLER, not you. Unless you have entered into an exclusive Buyer's Agent Agreement with the agent, all agents are working for the sellers. They are legally required to protect the interest of their client, the Mr/Mrs Seller. Smart buyers have started to realise this, and, they have started engaging buyer's agents under exclusive agreements, to level the playing field, and to ensure they have an agent who understands the game, and who is protecting their buying interest. 10. Doing it Yourself (DIY) You've realised that the sellers have agents to protect them in the sales transaction. And you might still decide to save the small 2-3% fee, and chose to rely on information and 'experts' in the faceless world of internet, for buying advice. While some advice are relevant to you, over 98% of the advice are generic. You'll need to know what's fact, what's fake, and how the advice is relevant to your situation. And, if anything goes wrong, will they have your back? No one from these free sources are obliged to help you get out of trouble. We've many clients who came to us after they received the wrong advice from these free resources. One bought a land with 5 different overlays and issues. He would have bought a $250k lemon, if he had contacted us 2 days later. So, be wary of such free advice. Let's look at this analogy. Buying a house is probably your biggest commitment. It is as significant as fronting up to a judge in court. Will you attend court without a solicitor on your side? Will you choose to represent yourself, or do you prefer to save a few thousand dollars and have your faith and trust in the experts' advice sourced from the internet and social media? The 2021-2022 Property Market 2021-2022 is going to be another interesting year. The 40-60% property price crash of 2020 did not eventuate. No one expected the property market not to collapse. But because we are on the ground, and in sync with the property market, we did. Our predictions back in July 2020 believed the prices will be stable, and could even rise by end of 2020. It did. What's going to happen in 2021-2022? We're expecting the price boom to continue. In most areas, prices will easily grow 10%, with some areas growing by over 20%. But there is a catch. Not all areas will grow at the same rate. Not all types of properties will grow at the same rate. Some will even continue to consolidate. Do you know where to buy, what to buy? Where should your avoid and what should your avoid? If you are looking to buy you next home, here is how we can help: Tailored Advice - We find out what you want, your budget, and tailor our advice to your needs and wants. We will help ensure you buy the right property, at the right price. Buy with confidence and buy with the right property insight, based on facts and data. No more wasted weekends, no more guesswork, no more over-paying for your home. Buyer's Agency working FOR YOU - As Melbourne's fastest growing buyer's agency, we've been involved in over $25million of property purchase in 2020 alone! Yes, while everyone is predicting a property glut, and NOT buying and waiting to grab a good bargain, our insight understanding and accurate forecast of the property market had given us the confidence to help our buying clients buy over $25million worth of properties in 2020. Now, see who had really grabbed a bargain? Low Fees - We believe in helping our clients secure good properties and stop our clients spending too much and wasting too much time on endless house search. We believe in reducing our operating costs, and we believe in returning these savings to our clients, by way of low fees. As such, we have one of the lowest buyer's agent fees in Melbourne. Found a lower fee? Ask about our low fees guarantee. Have a chat with us, let us discuss your property purchase journey and explore how we can work together on your purchase.

Thinking of buying properties in a cooling (falling) market? Why not? Afterall, in a cooling market when not many buyers dares to buy, you can sometimes pick up very good deals. Here is what you need to know if you are planning to buy. Our property buyers advocates will show you: Should you buy in a cooling market? How to buy in a falling market? What should you buy? What should you watch for? What types of properties should you buy? What strategy is best for buying in quiet times? What types of properties will sell fast in a cooling market? In the Property Market What is a Buyers Market? A property buyers market is when there are more properties being sold than there are property buyers. In a buyers market, there is generally more supply than buyers, and buyers has the upper hand in closing the deal. A buyers' market can also be called a: cooling market falling market consolidating market Some alarmistic journalist may even call this a bursting property market. In a buyer's market, price rise tend to be rare, and sellers are more realistic with their expectations. Some might even consider reducing the asking price, to entice buyers. Should you buy Properties in a Buyer's Market? Short answer: Yes. Buyers can buy in a cooling property market. And it is usually the best time to buy. But, should you buy? Yes, if you can afford it and afford to hold it for a year or two, through the downturn. In the Melbourne property market, Time in the market is a lot better than timing the market. The only bad time to buy, is to WAIT for the right time, and that includes waiting for the prices to bottom. Historically, Melbourne property prices are growing at an average of 7% annually. Yes, that include the major downturns like GFC, Covid-19 pandemic, high interest rates, recessions, etc. Property buying and property investments are for the long term. Investors in Australia typically hold on to their investment properties for about 7 to 10 years. With a growth of around 7% annually, that means house prices will double every 7 to 10 years. Why wait for prices to drop a further 2-5% when you have 100% gain in 10 years time? Yes, you might save a further $50k, but, that's how much buyers advocates like us typically save our buyers anyway. Buyers waiting for the bottom, have NEVER bought at the bottom. One other notable fact is, buyers waiting for the bottom, have NEVER bought at the bottom. They are always 3 to 6 months too late. And by then, there will be all other waiting buyers and enough FOMO in the market to push prices a lot higher quickly. How do you buy Properties in a Buyer's Market? Buying in a falling (cooling) market is similar to buying in a booming market. Do your due diligence, find the type of properties you want, and buy. In a falling market, you might have more time to do your due diligence, so, you have less of an excuse not to do it properly. Some good properties do sell fast, in a falling market though. What Properties should you buy in a Buyer's Market? Anything, really. Anything you need to set yourself up for success. As a buyer, you need to understand that the Melbourne property market is made up of multiple sub markets. While some markets are cooling, some are still hot and rising. When our buyers advocates analyse properties, we categorise them into 3 grades. Grade A - those in blue chip areas, good location, tip-top, move in condition. Grade B - those in lesser locations, and those that are generally in a move-in condition, but can do with some renovations. Grade C - those in lower socio-economic areas, and need extensive renovations. While the Grade Bs and Cs might fall, you might be expected to pay above asking price for the Grade As. You buy properties for only 2 purposes: Buy what meets your needs Buy what sets you up for success financially. Identify your needs, then find a property that fits your home buying or investment plan and strategy needs. Whichever you buy during in a buyer's market, is definitely going to be cheaper simply because there is less buyers competing against you. If you are unsure of what to buy, have a chat with us. Our strategists can help identify your needs, and if you choose to engage our services to help you find and buy that property, you will get an immediate discount. What should you watch out for in a Buyer's Market? As with any buying properties in any other times, watch out for property spruikers. Those who claim off-the-plan apartments will give you the riches to let you retire early... They are just feeding themselves with the huge commissions from the developers. They are the ones who will be retiring early, while you are still paying off your depreciating apartments or trying to dispose them. Buyers should buy apartments only for 1 need: Convenience. Apartments are usually located centrally, near major amenities. Good public transport, food outlets, grocery stores, etc. Unless you are buying a very exclusive high-end limited edition apartment or penthouse, most mass market apartments are money pit holes. You need to validate when someone says apartments are high yield, high growth. Information you need to receive from them include: What are the strata (body corporate or owners corporate) fees? What are the council rates? Who supplies the utilities (include gas, electricity, internet/nbn)? Are you free to choose your own utility supplier? Does it come with parking? Where can you guest park? What are the growth in the apartment block? What are the recent resale prices of the apartments in the apartment block? What can you unit be leased for (yes, even if you are buying, you need to know this)? The notion that apartments are high yield and high growth, can easily be verified when you get answers to the above questions. Include the numbers into your due diligence, and you will find the high strata fees, higher interest rates, high parking costs, high utilities costs will eat into the yield of the apartment, while growth are almost ZERO, if not negative. In most apartments, yields are no better than a house in the suburbs, while, suffering from poor growth, due to the consistent over-supply issue. For more information around you need to know when buying an apartment, read this. What types of Properties should you buy in a Buyer's Market? What you should buy, depends on your home or investment property buying goals. If you prefer something newish, in a move-in condition, go for the Grade As. But, do be prepared to pay more for them. You might even need to pay above market prices, if they are popular. If you are after the Grade Bs and Cs, you're in luck! Grade Cs deals are readily available now. While prices of these properties were insane in the past couple of years, vendors are very realistic now. Choose a property that fits your investment plan and strategy. Whichever you buy, there is definitely going to be lesser competition. What strategies are best for buying in a Buyer's Market? Buy when you can. Not timing the market. This is the strategy we've asked our successful investors to adopt. Go for the Grade As if you want something to live in, or to lease out for a premium. Go for the Grade Bs if you want something you can improve, and potentially fetch a higher rent. Go for the Grade Cs if you are a handy person, and you are prepared to get your hands dirty. Do note though, not all repairs or renovation works can be done by a handyman. You may need to get the relevant council permits and licenced contractors to do certain pieces of work. Do not time the market. Time in the market is what it needs for the right properties to grow. Where can you get help to buy in a Buyer's Market? If you are not sure of where and how to buy in this quiet times, get in touch. Our buyers advocates are available to readily take over your buying headaches.

The Melbourne property market literally grind to a halt in the second half of 2022. Consecutive interest rates rises bumped mortgage interest rates from a low 2% to over 6% in 7 short months. This huge jump, caused borrowing capacity to shrink by as much as a third, and buyer's budgets for the property purchase shrank almost immediately. That, created a sudden shock to the property market. The bullish buying, buyers' fear of missing out (FOMO), high 90+% auction clearance rates in the first half of 2022 quickly gave way to a bearishly low 50% auction clearance rates, and an almost immediate end to bidding frenzy at open auctions. Buyers now fear catching a falling knife, and are a lot more cautious, and careful with their property budget. Afterall, it is only natural that people stay away from buying and spending, when the interest rates direction is unclear, and there doesn't seem to be an end to the ever rising interest rates. With such a slow market, bargains are starting to appear. In fact, in some of the suburbs below, bargains appeared almost as soon as interest rates start rising. Most of these suburbs are typically the first home buyers buying heaven. And as first home buyers, they are usually the most sensitive to mortgage interest rates rises and monthly repayments increased. Top Melbourne Bargain Suburbs in 2023 As we head into 2023, our team of buyers advocates have put together this article, listing a few suburbs where bargains have consistently appear. We have also categorised these bargain suburbs into 3 main categories, according to the typical median price and buyers' budget. First Home Buyer Budget - median price up to $750k Middle Income Budget - median between $750k and $1.8M Higher Income Budget - median over $1.5M These suburbs are selected based on the level of discounting. I.E., the difference between Sold Price and List Price. Buyers of these suburbs can usually buy properties for at least 5% discounts. And, in some cases, almost 10%. Bear in mind though, you need to assess each property individually. Not all properties in these suburbs are being discounted. Location and condition are still the Kings and Queens of property pricing. Properties in good locations, near good schools, good amenities, good transport access, always enjoy a premium. And needless to say, buyers are definitely more willing to pay a premium for properties top-notch condition and high quality fittings. So, let's start with the list: Top 3 First Home Budget Bargain Suburbs in 2023 Properties in these areas quality for the First Home Owners Grant (FHOG). In no particular order, the top 3 suburbs in within reach of First Home Buyers are: Derrimut ~5% discount Croydon ~5% discount Glenroy ~5% discount Top 3 Middle Income Budget Bargain Suburbs in 2023 Properties in the middle income budget areas are typically priced between $1M to $1.8M. Again, in no particular order, the top 3 suburbs in the Middle Income Budget are: Brunswick ~10% discount Northcote ~8% discount Burwood East ~7% discount Top 3 Higher Income Budget Bargain Suburbs in 2023 These are the higher income bracket, and properties in these areas are typically over $1.8M. Again, in no particular order, the top 3 suburbs in the Higher Income Budget are: Carlton North ~5% discount Clifton Hill ~9% discount Northcote (4 bedrooms and above) ~8% discount Important Melbourne Property Buying Tips Other than simply looking for suburbs with the best discount, buyers should also consider their needs and budget criteria. Read our complete Melbourne property buying guide, for more details. Conclusion So, here you are, the top 3 suburbs to pick up a bargain, based on your budget. As discussed above, you need to assess each property individually. Location and condition are still the Kings and Queens of property pricing. Properties in good locations, always enjoy a premium, compared to others in lesser locations within the suburb. And properties with high-quality fittings and in top-notch condition, will always attract more buyers' interest and thus, more buying competition. Be prepared to increase your budget if you are after good properties in prime locations. If you need help assessing the value of a property or to get more information, get in touch with one of our friendly Buyers Advocates. We have services to help buyers assess the value of a property and/or to help buyers get the best price for the property and make the purchase confidently. To understand how property buying clients can and have benefitted from our services, read this. OR simply get in touch.

We've been asked if it's worth to use a buyer's agent. How much can a buyer's agent save you? ​ There is no one single answer to this. Our property buying services are not for everyone. Our services are for: people who value the quality time they save people who want to buy fast and buy with confidence people who do not want to overpay for their properties ​ In short, the answer to those questions is, unfortunately, another question: ​ How much do you value your time? ​ Since everyone places a different value on their time, it is not possible for us to calculate with how much property buyers would have saved (or avoided paying) if they had not engaged our property buying service. ​ But here are some factual, recent examples of our clients' experience. Had our clients been buying without a buyer's agent's insight and experience in the property market, they would have overpaid, and it will take them longer to realise any equity growth. And I mean OVERPAID, by over $120,000 in one case. ​ When asking "is it worth to use a buyers agent?", it’s important to also consider what you would have paid, if you do not have the right insight, knowledge and experience of a property buying agent. That, is what you will save on the purchase price. In many cases this savings is through our negotiation skills. In other cases, the savings come from taking the emotions out of the purchase, valuing the property based on the right insights, knowledge and analysis of the property, understanding of property values, and benefiting from our network and relationship with the agents. ​ Here's how the Buyer's Agents at Concierge Buyers Advocates have helped our clients. Client 1 – Client contacted us very late in their purchase process. They had intended to bid at an auction, in 3 days time, and got cold feet. It was an established property with a price guidance of $700k-$770k. He believed it was worth a million, and was prepared to offer $1 million for it, given the proximity to Melbourne CBD and other amenities. We got in touch with the agent, organised an special private inspection, had a chat with the agent, who gave us some insight into the sales. Our subsequent research and due diligence processes dug deeper into the history of the property and the vendor, the interest in properties in the area, and we acted on it. Our research, and findings, placed the property appraisal and valuation at between $820-$850k. The agent's price guide was slightly lower, probably to attract more interest. Our client was prepared to offer slightly above our valuation as they liked it. They placed an "emotional premium" of $30k on it. Auction started and our $880k auction limit was quickly exceeded. Our advice was to walk away. The auction ended with the property being sold at $958k! That was late 2019, when buyers were starting to rush into the market after a prolonged property market downturn. In June 2020, just half a year later, the very same property was valued at $855k. Had our client gone to the auction on their own, they would be prepared to pay almost $1 million. But that will be overpaying. We've saved him over $103k, with our insights and advice. He was prepared to go "all out". ​ Client 2 – Client engaged our service to help them acquire a 3 acre land in Traralgon, in regional Victoria. Expressions of interests would close in 3 days. We organised a last minute inspection, received the sales contract, realised that there were 5 (yes, FIVE) concerns with the land. Bushfire, flood, 2 major easements across 40% of the land and it was near an old landfill. The client was surprised when we presented our findings. This was an unique property, a sheriff's sale due to council rates default. It was listed at between $180k-$200k, and the client was prepared to offer up to $300k for it. We put our valuation at $200k, and we allowed another $20k for his "emotional premium". The property was sold for $280k. Whoever paid that, had obviously overpaid, as we managed to secure an off-market property of a similar size nearby, for $260k, a few weeks later. The best thing with this property is that there's no flood risk, and no easements. A tangible savings of $20k. But the intangible savings in the better quality is priceless. There's no easements and no flood risks. ​ Client 3 – We came across a property, listed between $780k-$850k, which looked amazing in the real estate listings. Just by looking at the listing and virtual inspection videos, it looked fantastic, and it was worthy of a $900k-990k price tag. We organised a private inspection, and we found some issues, and brought these to our clients attention. The on-site inspection of the layout and structure of the property, suggested that the house has had a few extensions, and some parts of the building appeared to have been illegally modified, as they would not pass building codes. Our due diligence research confirmed our suspicion. Something which an untrained, inexperienced person would not have noticed. Under the gloss of staged photos and virtual inspections videos, lies some significant undisclosed findings. We placed the valuation at around $740k-$780k, after factoring our findings. It was in the low end of the vendor agent's price guidance. After several discussions with the vendor agents, we suggested our client to walk away, as the property is not worth the price guidance. During our negotiations, it was apparent that the vendor's was hoping for offers above $900k. In a short 3 weeks after our advice, the listing was revised with a lowered price guidance of $700k-$770k. Had the client gone ahead with the purchase sight unseen, they would have overpaid by over $100k. And they would have bought a building with some unapproved structures, and many more potentially illegal and dangerous structures. Savings? Priceless. One should never buy sight unseen. An on-site inspection services of an experienced buyer's agent can reveal a lot of hidden nasties. Remember, a selling agent always work for the vendor, not the buyer. ​ Client 4 – Our clients were about to make an pre-auction offer and were considering to offer up to $938K. They engaged our services as they wanted some expert opinion. We did our due diligence checks, investigations. We did not believe the hype and interest around that property. We advised them to wait for the auction. Their instructions were to go up to $950K if necessary. We bought the property for $868k at the auction. A savings of $70,000 had they submitted their offer before auction, and $82,000 lower than what they are prepared to pay at the auction. ​ Client 5 – We found a $800k property for our overseas investor clients. Client was skeptical and were brainwashed by the doom and gloom news they received from the media (both in their home country and Australian news). Our on-the-ground insights, knowledge and analysis of various factors suggested otherwise. Our analysis into the forex market also found that the Australian Dollar has been too low for too long, and our insights into the facts of the economy and location, suggested that it was long overdue for a strong Australian Dollar rebound. We convinced our client that we have the confidence of a conservative 5% rebound, plus a potential 5% capital growth in the property market within a year. That would easily offset the extra 8% FIRB foreign investor stamp duty premium. We bought the property in March 2020. What happened really took us by surprise. The Australian Dollar made a strong recovery. In May 2020, on the day of settlement, the AUD had made a strong 20% recovery! Our Client's property value had appreciated 20% even before they collect their keys!! At the time of this writing (Sept 2020), the AUD has recovered another 5%. That's a 25% growth in under 6 months! It's all about timing. And with our background in big data, data analytics, a good collection of data and good on-the-ground feel of the property market, we are able to forecast and identify trends before it happens. Savings? Why look at savings when there is a 25% growth? ​ These true examples are how our buyers agent service had helped our clients save in a successful purchase. The true savings is often made when our clients DID NOT buy. That was when they heed our advice to walk away, because the properties were either: overpriced; 'junk'; have little to no growth; have issues with the land / area; or could even suffer major depreciation! ​ When you buy the right property, the real benefit is realised when you buy at the right time, and have bought one that appreciates over time at a greater rate than other investment options. ​ So, is it worth using a buyers agent? How do you put a price on the savings and disaster avoidance? ​ If you’d like to explore how you can benefit from our Melbourne buyer agent service, get in touch, and we will explore if our services are right for you.

With the Federal Elections looming, this article sums up the major tax changes proposed by 2 major parties. It compares the claims by the 2 major parties against an independent finding. Everyone's heard about the Capital Gains Tax changes. But are you aware that taxes on Discretionary Trusts are being reviewed as well? https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-03-29/tax-changes-you-need-to-know-ahead-of-the-federal-election/10945466?pfmredir=sm§ion=business

In a seller's market, it is not uncommon to see properties being listed for "Auction". With almost every good properties listed for "Auction", you will have no choice but to be prepared to put your winning bid at these property auctions one day. You will probably be familiar with on site auctions. But what about online auctions? What do you need to know with online auctions? How do you bid at online auctions? What do you need to prepare for the online auctions? What strategies do you need at the auctions? How do you win at the online property auction? You will hopefully know by now, that the auctioneer is NOT your competitor. The other bidders are. The role of auctioneer is to facilitate the auction. Is it still the same? Or is it different for an online property auction? Based in Melbourne, our buyers advocates attend and bid at over a hundred auctions a year for our property buying clients. On a busy weekend, we can be bidding at between 3 to 5 auctions a day. Sometimes, we could even be bidding from our mobile office. So, when it comes to auction bidding, including online auctions, we've seen different strategies being used, all sorts of games and distractions, all sorts of tactics used by agents and auctioneers to conjure an emotionally charged atmosphere. What is an online auction? Back to the basics. What is an auction? Quite simply, an auction is an open bidding competition between interested buyers. All interested buyers for the property will get together at set place and time, and start indicating the price they are willing to pay for the property. This bidding session is facilitated by a licenced Auctioneer, whose job is to make sure the bidding process is held in an organised manner. An online auction is similar. All interested buyers will come together electronically using a online auction platform or app and start submitting their bids. Again, the auctioneer is there to facilitate the online auction process, making sure it runs smoothly and according to regulations. What do you need to know about online auctions? Auctions are usually an emotionally charged, tension filled 20-30 mins process. At times, the bidding activities may be slow, in small increments, and long delays between bids, while at times, the bidding can be fast, in large increments of tens of thousand dollars, and with split seconds counterbiddings. Again, this is facilitated by our dear Auctioneer. It is important to know that, in most states in Australia, properties bought at auctions are unconditional. There is no cooling off periods, no ifs, no buts. There is no walking away, if you are the successful bidder. And, everyone should also know it is illegal to disrupt an auction. What you said you will pay at the auction, is legally binding. There is no backing out. It is the same with online auctions. You are often on your own during an online auction. You do not always have the luxury of time to seek help if you run into technical difficulties. Preparing your technology for online auctions. Unlike an on-site auction, you must have access to a suitable, stable technology equipment in order to participate at the online auction. There are a few things you need to prepare. 1. Application for Online Property Auction There are a few popular online auction application/software used here in the Melbourne property market: Anywhere Auctions Gavl Zoom The listing agent for the property will tell you which platform you need to use for the online auction. The apps and software for these platforms are available either from your phone's app store or directly from the platform providers website. Where possible, always download the apps from the phone's app store if possible. Next best is directly from the app providers website, but this is not preferred if you do not know how to identify a fake website. Never ever download these apps from any other third parties. These apps can easily be modified to compromise your phone, computer or steal your identity, putting your data and identity at risk. Some online auction platforms such Anywhere Auctions and Gavl require you to pre-register on the platform a few days prior to the auction. You might need to submit copies of your photo IDs and bank account details to proof you are who you say you are. So, do ensure you are set up properly a few days prior to the auction. And this is why you should never download these apps from unknown sources. Your ID could be stolen by a rogue app. If in doubt or if you're not sure, always contact the listing agent. They will be able to help you set yourself up. 2. Network Setup for Online Property Auction Make sure you have a stable network. Although relatively rare here in Melbourne, the internet do go down unexpectedly, either through an unplanned interruption, power blackout, etc. So, do make sure you have a stable and reliable network. If your internet is not stable, consider using a mobile data hotspot. 3. Test the equipment and applications This may seem obvious, but too many assumed that nothing will go wrong with their IT setup. Always test the network and application. How do you prepare for the auction? Given the high stakes involved at the auction, how do you prepare for the online auction? How do you make the right auction preparations, to prevent yourself from some serious, unintended consequences? What preparations do you need? While some suggests that you need a lot more preparations, there are only 3 basic things you need to prepare: 1. Do your due diligence. Doing your due diligence is critical to preventing yourself from buying a property that doesn't suit you. Understanding what you want from the property, why you want the property and your plans for the property. Knowing the real market situation will help you understand the market condition for that property type, in that particular street and in that particular pocket. If you are a home buyer intending to live in the property, ask yourself: Do you like the location? Does it have the right school? Does it have the right transportation - train, tram, highway, bus, etc? Does it have the right environment? Does it have the right amenities? Do you like the vibes you get when you are in the area? If you are an investor and intend to put the property on the rental market, ask yourself: What rent can the property fetch on the rental market? Is that good enough for you? What are the vacancy rates? How long will it take for you to find a tenant? Is the property in the right location for the types of tenants you want to attract? Does the property meet the minimum rental standards in its current condition? What else do you need to do, to bring the property up to minimum standards? If you are a developer and intend to develop the property, ask yourself: What types of properties are buyers looking for, in that location, on that street? What are the development potentials for the site and location? Does it have the right zoning, overlays, council plans, features? How will the local council look at your development proposal? If you are loaded and just want that property, ask: What price will knock out all other bidders? Will the agent accept an 'irresistible offer' before the auction? 2. Know the real price of that property. Most buyers wrongly believed the price guide in the Statement Of Information (SOI) provided by the sales agent. While the SOI aims to give you an indication of the price for the property, it usually does not mean the auction will end within the price range indicated in the guide. You should always do your own homework. Find out what other buyers and bidders are willing to pay for the property. Find out what similar properties in the area are sold for. If your research is very different from the price guide in the SOI, always feel free to ask why the agent thinks it should be so different. There could be a gold plated toilet in the house. Or a few embedded 1kg gold bars in the bedroom. Or a subterranean termite infestation. Or a history of flood and/or water damage. However, more often than not, you are likely going to get a standard reply "that's based on sales data. We cannot predict how much buyers will be prepared to pay at the auction"... A good independent buyer's advocate who knows the area, location, street, buyer demand, supply situation, buyer demographics, property characteristics, will be able to confidently give you an idea of the auction price range. At Concierge Buyers Advocates, we overlay our understanding of the area, with our data analytics, to derive a price guide for all properties we are bidding for. With the exception of a few outliers, we have been able to accurately estimate the selling price of the property. 3. Know your budget. With the due diligence done in steps 1 and 2 above, step 3 is the next critical homework you need to do. Steps 1 and 2 helps you understand your limits. Step 3 helps you set your budget. Budget is critical. Always remember, buying at auction is unconditional. You CANNOT back out, if you win the auction. Make sure you: Know how much you can afford to pay. Know your serviceability. Have sufficient funds for the 10% deposit. Have the appropriate way to pay the required deposit on the day of auction. Be prepared. Always assume you will win the auction. Our auction bidding service lets you know what others are likely to pay for, and what price range is considered appropriate for the property. With these information, determine what the property is worth to you. Set yourself 2 limits. Limit1. The price you are willing to pay for the property. Limit2. The absolute maximum price you are willing to pay for the property. A good test to know if you've set the right Limit2 is this: ask yourself "if the property is sold for $100 more to someone else, will you regret walking away". If these two numbers are way less than what others are willing to likely to pay at the auction, consider if you should even turn up at the auction. You might be the lucky bidder with no other competitors, and walk away with the property for a good price. These days, this scenario is highly unlikely to happen though. We will tell you why. Note: Intentionally under-bidding, hoping to grab a bargain is just going to waste your own time, the agents' time and everyone else' time. You'll be reducing your own credibility and creating a bad impression amongst the agents and buyers in the area. Another reason why this won't work is this: All properties at auctions have a reserve price. This reserve price is set at what the vendor and agent think is the fair value for the property. So, even in the unlikely scenario where you're the only bidder, you will still be expected to pay fair value anyway. 4. Stick to your budget. With the above preparations done, you are now all set for the auction. On the day of auction, be sure to arrive early. The listing agent would usually have a final open for inspection just before the auction. Turn up, have one final inspection of the property. Introduce yourself to the agent and let them know you will be bidding. Review your budget limits. You have one last chance to review and revise, if you need to. You should not have the need to adjust the numbers if you have done the due diligence in steps 1 to 3 diligently. Experience tells us, bidders who attempt to bid on their own WILL almost certainly change the budget at this very last minute. It is ok, if you change because you have to. But It is NOT ok if you change because you want to. If you want to change the limit at this very last minute, you will almost certainly walk away from the auction with regrets: If you win the auction, you will be wondering if you have overpaid. If you lost the auction, you will be blaming yourself for not spending that extra $100. How to bid during Online Auctions Many have also ask what our preferred auction strategies or bidding styles are. Some common theories advocated by some buyers include: 1. Be confident Confidence is to prepare you for the pressure, and emotions created in the auction atmosphere. There is no shortcut to this. Practice, practice, practice. Practice and be comfortable bidding with a clear, loud voice. If you have a naturally soft voice, or you are not confident in public speaking, you can get an assisting vendor agent to help you. This can be both good and bad, as the assisting agent will definitely use this opportunity to stir your emotions. Some commonly used techniques include: "Another $1000 will knock the other bidders off", "Put in a $5000 increment. This should scare the others." "I know them. It's at their limit. Another $3000 will stop them." The auction bidding service at our Buyers Advocacy agency helps our clients bid confidently. We make our role known to the auctioneer and any assisting agents, and we always ask assisting agents to stay away. We believe our clients should be shielded from the pressure and emotions of the auction. 2. Power Dressing Unlike on-site auctions, power dressing is seriously irrelevant. You are bidding from which ever place is comfortable, in your bedroom, in your pajamas, on the beach, in your beachwear. No one cares. 3. Camera-shy? Most online property auction platforms either do not have a video camera, or allows you to turn off the camera. If you are camera-shy and uncomfortable with video bidding, turn it off. Some auctioneers may want to see your face though. 4. Use Huge Bid Increments Some say huge bid increments will scare the competition and let you create the sense of deep pockets. It is partially true. But this only work against amateur competitors. Only the amateur bidders will think twice about beating your bid. If you intend to use this strategy, use it with caution though. Used at the wrong time, with the wrong increment, this strategy will backfire badly. We've seen someone put in winning mega bid increment, knocking out all other bidders. Quietly, we believe he overpaid badly for the property. Professional bidders like us use huge bids to speed up the auction and lock out lowballers. 5. Use Small Bid Increments Small bid increments is a tactic used by most rookie bidders and other professional bidders to delay the auction. It also gives an impression of a bottomless budget, as the bidder seems to be able to dig out an extra $500 from thin air. It would potentially scare the amateur competition by exuding a sense of deep pockets too. As experienced bidders, we have ways to counter the small incrementers. Having discussed some frequently used auction strategies, we are sad to say, there are no fool-proof or sure-win strategies. As professional auction bidders, we analyse and profile each bidder, study their bids and use a combination of strategies to counter them. What happens when there are no winners at an auction? Now that the auctioneer has done their best to get the best out of bidders, what happens when there are no successful bidders? Remember the reserve price? If the highest bid during the auction did not surpass the reserve price, the auction is unsuccessful. It is called "passed in" at auctions. If you are still interested in the property, this article will tell you what you need to do. Auctions are Just Games. Here's why. At the end of the day, over 90% of the auctions end within the expected price range of the property. IE, it doesn't matter what strategies or styles you use, price, budget and the competing bidders ARE still the determining factors. You only have that one chance to try to buy the property, and your offer is unconditional. Doing the right due diligence with the right data; and having a good understanding of the market, the property and who the potential buyers are will help you either put in your winning bid or walk away satisfied, knowing you have done your best. After all, you probably do not want to beat an over-bidder, at an auction. If you are going to attend an upcoming auction, but you do not have the confidence to bid or do not know what you need and how you should prepare for the auction, it might be worthwhile engaging a professional auction bidding service. Our professional Auction Bidding Service are popular with hands-on buyers who are either unable or need help with auction bidding. We provide auction biddings for up to 3 auctions, helps our clients throughout the auction preparation process, and shields our clients from the pressure and emotions during the auction process. Get in touch if you're keen to find out more. Last but not least, good luck with the auction. Get in touch if you want to learn more.

Let us cut through the fluff. Buyers advocate services are not for everyone. Not everyone needs the services of a buyers agent. This is why, here at Concierge Buyers Advocates we have turned away customers during our qualifications process. Most people who will not benefit from our home buying services. We would rather not have one new client than to sign up one who does not need our services. Who are buyers advocates? First things first. Buyers advocates are buyer-focused real estate agents. And unlike a typical real estate sales agent, our role is to protect property buyer's interest in a property purchase. If turning property buyers away is better than signing them up, that is exactly what our team of buyers advocates will and have been doing. We are known to turn away clients who would not benefit from our services. Concierge Buyers Advocates builds our services and reputation on integrity, honesty and trust. We conduct our business with utmost integrity and honesty. We are upfront with our clients, and that is why our clients have trusted our opinion and they return for their 2nd, 3rd and subsequent properties. To help you determine when a real estate buyers advocacy service is not for you, we've put together a quick guide below. If more than 3 of the following describes your situation, a Melbourne buyers agent is probably not suitable for you: You have the luxury of time and are in no urgency to buy a property. You know that more than 80% of property buyers will take almost a year to buy their own properties. know property prices are rising at between 1-2% every month, in the current market. I.E., you'll be paying between $30,000 to $50,000 dollars more, for each month of delay. are not keen to buy your Melbourne property in under 2 months. do not value your time. do not mind spending your evenings and weekends doing property searches, instead of spending your precious time with your loved ones. do not mind spending your weekends attending disappointing property inspections. do not mind spending your time trying to contact real estate agents. do not mind spending your time being part of the real estate agent's game. You are prudent with your finances and you know what properties are worth. You are confident that you will not buy any wrong property in Melbourne. have deep pockets and don't mind overpaying for your Melbourne property. can confidently put a reasonable value to a property and do not mind going all out to outbid your competitor. know you can afford to pay $30k to $50k more for the property for each month's delay. You belong to the generation who believed Google knows everything. You have faith in the University of Google and College of Facebook. have no trouble differentiating fact from fiction. have no trouble differentiating generic advice from bespoke advice tailored to your needs. trust the unlicensed, faceless "experts" dishing out free property buying advice in social media. you do not believe people will do anything to get themselves some attention. believe everything you read in social media like Facebook, Google, etc. do not appreciate the confidence and security that legal licencing gives you, when you receive the advice from an licensed and real estate property advisor. You believed all properties for sale have to be listed. You are happy and confident that you will find something on the public listing boards. realise over 70% of properties are sold and bought without being listed on the public boards. do not believe the hidden 70% property listings will help you. You insist on low-balling properties. You insist on a minimum of more than 20% discount, which is unlikely, if you're after something decent. We are however definitely striving for the lowest possible price, but if that means you are under pricing yourself, and will not never be successful in the market, then we do not want to give you any false promises and waste your time. insist on under pricing yourself out of the property market. insist on profiting from the misery of motivated sellers. Our morals say no. Sorry! The above guide should give you a good idea of when a buyers advocate service is not for you. You will be better off buying your property on your own, saving yourselves the buyer agency fees. Just be aware that the longer you take to buy, the more you'll have to pay for your property. We have clients who approached us after a wasted year of DIY searching. And because prices have moved 20+% in this 1 year, they had no choice but to increase their budget by between $100,000 to $300,000. If they had engaged the services of a buyer's advocate a year ago, they would have bought their properties in 3 months and avoided having to increase their budget. We recently had a client who signed up after 4 years of fruitless search. Sadly, he missed out 60% of equity growth, in the 4 years. IE, he had no choice but to pay 60% more for similar properties. If you are still unsure if a buyers advocates service is for you, or if you're keen to buy your property fast, without overpaying for it, do feel free to get in touch. You'll be receiving the keys to your new property in no time.