Think south Oshawa, or downtown Whitby or even that odd area in Bowmanville that floods every time Lake Ontario surges…. Then think a bachelor co-op in Brooklyn Heights. How is it possible to find similarities in these communities? Hang with me for a few minutes. Buyers. Buyers of homes in Durham and Manhattan use the similar processes when going through the process of finding a home. Buyers also make the same mistakes both north and south of the border.

A recent survey done by Zillow in the USA revealed some interesting data points. A third of the Buyers surveyed indicated that they ended up in a home that needed far more work than they had planned. Over 20% said that they bought a home smaller than they hoped and many felt they overpaid for the property.

Is it the same here in Canada? Let’s tackle the third point first, that Buyers felt that they overpaid. In the past month prices for all types of homes in Durham, increased by $249,000! If a Buyer feels that they overpaid in the first week of January by the end of the month they most likely had more than doubled their down payment. When you discuss not getting the size, area or condition that a Buyer is hoping for there are a few ways of bettering the chances of ending up with what you want.

Currently most Buyer appointments are 30 minutes, which is a short amount of time to determine if the home being toured is “the” one. I have found that the best tool in the Buyer “toolkit” is preparedness.

Here are a few hacks:

• Get pre-approved. Know exactly what your comfortable budget is and what a lender will lend to you.
• Create a list of “needs and wants” and number them in order of important to would love to haves.
• Like back in high school math class, draw a radius around the areas you are considering, expanding the area by 10 to 20 kms.
• Do your best to do a second tour and take a trusted friend who knows about renovations to help you determine what the property needs in upgrading.

It is easy to get swept up in the excitement of a flurry of offers on a property, however, if you slow down and go through the above steps it helps to avoid making mistakes. The pre-approval helps you determine what you can afford, along with an Agent helping you determine what the trends of prices over asking price will help you create a winning strategy.

When you know what you cannot live without and what items in a home are negotiable and expanding the search area will open up the possibilities in a low inventory market.

In a low inventory, highly appreciating Real Estate market, time is not a friend of a Buyer. Typically, the longer the process takes, the more the home will be once it is purchased.

My advice is, be flexible, open to possibilities and when you offer, play to win.

A pre-approval, a local experienced Agent and an open mind are your best tools to win in a Sellers market.