Clear Communication: Consistent and clear communication between buying partners helps in maintaining focus and avoiding unnecessary frustration during your property search.

Identifying Your Must-Haves: Regularly revisiting and adjusting your non-negotiables can streamline the house hunting process, maintain clarity and not waste unnecessary time on weeknights and weekends.

Building strong relationships with key real estate agents who specialise in your desired area can provide early access to new listings and valuable market insights.

Getting a second opinion on your borrowing power might uncover additional funds, thus expanding your property options.

Keep the faith.  There’s always another ‘one’

Brisbane's real estate market is seeing a shift, with increased stock leading to a perceived change and a ‘fairer’ feeling in some markets, while others are increasing in terms of both competition and price.

The current market offers opportunities for negotiation, especially as more properties are expected to come to the market.

Higher prices are being achieved behind the scenes, where agents get more opportunity to leverage perceived competition.

Being proactive and attending live auctions can offer prospective buyers first-hand experience with the market's pulse

Real estate requires transparent communication, especially when facilitating negotiations between buyers and sellers.

Michael emphasises the importance of an agent's honesty and genuine dealings to achieve the best outcomes.

The current real estate market in Brisbane is experiencing steady growth, with buyer competition remaining high for well-presented properties.

Buyer’s agents provide a significant advantage in the real estate process, helping buyers make well-informed decisions and often resulting in financial savings.

Selecting the right method of sale (auction or private treaty) should be tailored to the property type and the most likely pool of potential buyers.

Buying (and selling) is harder than it should be due to a lack of transparency and trust between buyers and real estate agents.

Buying a home feels like a perfect storm of people being at their aspirationally best and emotionally worst.

Asking informed questions and doing research can quickly tell buyers the kind of real estate agent they are dealing with.

Setting realistic expectations for the house hunting process will assist buyers in managing their experiences more positively.

Buyers should seek out advice and tools that help separate emotion from logic for better-informed decision-making when purchasing a home.

Auction Preparation: Proper preparation like knowing your limit and registering early can significantly increase your chances of success at an auction.

The Emotional Aspect: Engaging in pre-auction strategising helps potential buyers handle the emotional pressures of an auction

Bidding Strategy: It's crucial to have a number of plans in place before the auction starts, then you can read the room and make a confident decision as to when to make a bid and how to react to others' bids.

Understanding Market Value: Recognise where market value for a property may be so you can work through what premium you might need to pay above the market value in a competitive auction setting.

Due diligence is a critical aspect of home buying that involves researching unseen elements of a property such as easements, flood risk, and many other potential risk factors or property constraints.

Building and pest inspections, Develo reports, and body corporate searches are pivotal in uncovering potential issues and reducing the risk of future surprises and expenses.

Knowing the ins and outs of a property—including possible objections to its sale—makes for a more comfortable and financially worthwhile future resale opportunity.

Before making an offer, it is advisable to seek a solicitor’s advice for contract reviews and if buying a unit, to obtain the most recent AGM minutes from body corporates.

House hunting can be an overwhelming experience when there’s 50 other groups of buyers at one open home.

Don't be deterred by large turnouts at open houses; a lot of these attendees are there out of curiosity rather than with any serious intent to buy.

Deepen your relationship with real estate agents by being proactive on a Saturday.

Show keenness and engage in a conversation with agents to stand out amongst the rest of the crowd.

Accept the current market conditions. Values continue to rise due to increased buyer competition. 

Interest rates have not slowed growth. 

If you have the need and means to buy without being uncomfortably stretched both emotionally and financially, make a quick, confident offer when you find the right thing

Different strategic approaches to buying: urgency vs. flexibility, and how those can be leveraged to a buyer's advantage.

The nuances of "off-market" listings and the importance of understanding what genuinely constitutes an off-market property.

The impact of early interactions with agents and proactive steps buyers can take to stand out ahead of everyone else with real estate agents.

Practical advice on dealing with the highs and lows of house hunting

House hunting right now feels high-pressure and can require significant research and a strategic approach

Auctions offer transparency where bidders can gauge market value, but they can also be emotionally charged environments.

Knockout bids are a strategy used to discourage competition, but they can backfire if not handled correctly.

Best and final offer scenarios lack transparency, making it essential for buyers to ask the right questions and be prepared with their best offer.

Having the right team around you gives you the confidence to participate in both scenarios proactively.