Off-market properties have been a hot topic in recent months around Melbourne and a conversation we are constantly having with our clients.

So what are they? Are they worth buying? Do we buy them for clients? And where do I find them?

All will be covered in this week's episode!

Welcome to How’s The Market, a podcast for First Home Buyers and Upgraders that gives you tips, tricks & up to date real estate information from on the ground.

Make sure to check out www.tomii.com.au to get access to our How's The Market blog and join the mailing list and we shall see you again in next week's episode!

When we first chat with clients, we always stress that the most important thing to get crystal clear on is their brief. As the only way you can reverse engineer a great result is from seeing what the perfect result actually looks like for them.

We start by giving them a list of property attributes including things like distance to public transport, natural light, and a separate study and encourage them to separate all attributes into ‘nice-to-haves’ and ‘must-haves’.

To no surprise, oftentimes the number one ‘must-have’ on many people's lists is being in the right school zone.

So how much can being in a school zone cost and is it worth it?

Welcome to How’s The Market, a podcast for First Home Buyers and Upgraders that gives you tips, tricks & up to date real estate information from on the ground.

Make sure to check out www.tomii.com.au to get access to our How's The Market blog and join the mailing list and we shall see you again in next week's episode!

In today's real estate landscape, buyers often find themselves in a challenging predicament – the need to compromise on their property wish list due to limited options. However, it is critical not to make certain trade-offs that could lead to future buyer's remorse.

In this episode, we break down the things we believe you should never compromise on.

We also have an Upgraders webinar coming up with Mortgage Choice Berwick on Wed 23rd Aug where we will breakdown everything you need to know about getting the finance to upgrade your home as well as tips and tricks on how to buy better (and find off markets).

If you are interested in registering for the Upgraders Webinar with Mortgage Choice Berwick & Tomii Buyers Agents, you can register via the link below:

Register For The Mortgage Choice Upgraders Webinar Here

Welcome to How’s The Market, a podcast for First Home Buyers and Upgraders that gives you tips, tricks & up to date real estate information from on the ground.

Make sure to check out www.tomii.com.au to get access to our How's The Market blog and join the mailing list and we shall see you again in next week's episode!

The Mortgage Prison with Juliana Backman from Mortgage Choice Berwick

In this week’s episode, we have a very special guest, Julianna Backman breaking down all things finance including the current interest rates, the mortgage prison the fixed rate cliff and the banks reduced serviceability buffers.

If you are interested in registering for the Upgraders Webinar with Mortgage Choice Berwick & Tomii Buyers Agents, you can register via the link below:

Register For The Mortgage Choice Upgraders Webinar Here

Mortgage Choice Berwick's Website

Welcome to How’s The Market, a podcast for First Home Buyers and Upgraders that gives you tips, tricks & up to date real estate information from on the ground.

Make sure to check out www.tomii.com.au to get access to our How's The Market blog and join the mailing list and we shall see you again in next week's episode!

A recent article on realestate.com discusses the findings published by NAB in their latest Residential Property Survey which has estimated a 2 per cent increase in property prices by the end of 2023, followed by a 7.4 per cent jump across 2024.

In this week’s episode, we deep dive on the current state of the market and what we think the future holds based on NABs predictions.

If you are interested in registering for the Upgraders Webinar with Mortgage Choice Berwick & Tomii Buyers Agents, you can register via the link below:

Register For The Mortgage Choice Upgraders Webinar Here

Welcome to How’s The Market, a podcast for First Home Buyers and Upgraders that gives you tips, tricks & up to date real estate information from on the ground.

Make sure to check out www.tomii.com.au to get access to our How's The Market blog and join the mailing list and we shall see you again in next week's episode!

Buying a property in Victoria can be stressful enough, but when you consider the fact that many agents/agencies intentionally underquote properties, it can push some buyers to give up on the home hunting journey completely. 

Time and time again we hear from buyers that show us a property that sold for $100k - $200k above their budget that they tell us they went to auction or made an offer on a property that was ultimately out of their reach from the beginning.

This can slow down the home buying process for months as buyers end up wasting a lot of time trying to just figure out their brief and what they can afford.

So I want to arm you with the knowledge around why agents underquote, what the statement of information is and means and what you can do to really find out the price.

Welcome to How’s The Market, a podcast for First Home Buyers and Upgraders that gives you tips, tricks & up to date real estate information from on the ground.

Make sure to check out www.tomii.com.au to get access to our How's The Market blog and join the mailing list and we shall see you again in next week's episode!

Are Apartments A Good First Purchase?

It seems the typical journey as a first home buyer looks something like this:

• See some friends purchase a property.
• Check some calculators online, wondering what their deposit was and how much their repayments are.
• Speak with a mortgage broker to see if you could get finance.
• Get pre-approved.
• Start looking at properties and realise you likely can’t afford a house nearby.
• So you start looking around.
• You are then faced with the decision:
• Do I buy an apartment closer to the city, a unit a bit further out or a house on the fringe suburbs?

Welcome to How’s The Market, a podcast for First Home Buyers and Upgraders that gives you tips, tricks & up to date real estate information from on the ground.

Make sure to check out www.tomii.com.au to get access to our How's The Market blog and join the mailing list and we shall see you again in next week's episode!

Join Tristan Larkin & Melissa from Conveyed Conveyancing in this week's episode as we talk about all things due diligence.

What is it? What's the most important? How do we do it? Who do we need to help?

PLUS MORE!

Make sure to check out more of Melissa's content and her services over at https://conveyed.com.au/

Welcome to How’s The Market, a podcast for First Home Buyers and Upgraders that gives you tips, tricks & up to date real estate information from on the ground.

Make sure to check out www.tomii.com.au to get access to our How's The Market blog and join the mailing list and we shall see you again in next week's episode!

Going through open homes for the first time can be daunting.

Especially in today's market, you are probably lining up behind groups of people and then only walking through each property for 5 - 10 minutes so that you’ve got enough time to make it to the next one.

Then you get a text or a call from the agent later that day saying someone else has made an offer and they’re asking if you would like to compete against the offer.

But you’ve only seen the property for 10 minutes?

And it’s only been online for 4 days…

Then you miss out and the cycle continues. 

We get it…

That's why in this episode we go through the do's and don't' of inspections.

If you would like our First Home Buyer Checklist - you can download the full document for free via the link below.

FREE DOWNLOAD - First Home Buyer Checklist

Welcome to How’s The Market, a podcast for First Home Buyers and Upgraders that gives you tips, tricks & up to date real estate information from on the ground.

Make sure to check out www.tomii.com.au to get access to our How's The Market blog and join the mailing list and we shall see you again in next week's episode!

This week's HTM might be a bit more of a controversial one, though we want to discuss the effectiveness and shortcomings of building and pest inspections.

First and foremost, this podcast does not suggest that you should not get a building and pest inspection done before purchasing a home. 

As buyer’s agents, we insist in most cases on completing B&P inspections before purchasing every home or making our offers subject to.

Though, recently I’ve heard a few alarming stories from buyers and agents regarding the quality of inspectors, which has inspired us to record this podcast.

Welcome to How’s The Market, a podcast for First Home Buyers and Upgraders that gives you tips, tricks & up to date real estate information from on the ground.

Make sure to check out www.tomii.com.au to get access to our How's The Market blog and join the mailing list and we shall see you again in next week's episode!