Time is money. This is a very popular and wise saying when it comes to investing, especially in property. The Reno Kings are proof of that
with their renovations and have shown people how they too can renovate in less than 4 weeks to make massive gains.
This same philosophy applies to buying as well – at least in most cases.
Become a full time property buyer
The best buys are often only on the market for a matter of hours. You cannot reasonably expect to look at property just once a week and hope to find a true bargain. It can happen, but this is more luck than anything else. This is one of the reasons why employing a buyer’s agent can really work in your favour. By doing so you are essentially becoming a full time property buyer, even if you have another job to go to!
But for those who choose to go it alone, there are ways you can improve your chances of buying property well.
Understanding how and when property comes on the market is one way to improve your chances.
A typical property listing
Here is a common example of how one property may come on the market
There are two things to note here. The first is when that email is sent – Thursday. Thursday (or perhaps Wednesday) is generally the earliest an agent knows all the open house times their agency is holding over the coming weekend. Hence the email tends to be sent then. It does not mean that the properties in them are fresh. Even the newest properties have likely been listed for a few days. Thursday is also good timing for buyers – not too early that the times slip their mind and not too late that they don’t receive the email or have pre-arranged plans.
The other thing to note is the period between listing and advertising. Most properties are listed between Monday and Wednesday, but most internet and email advertising does not occur until Wednesday or Thursday and for the newspaper Saturday.
This should spell opportunity!
There is at least 1 to 3 days there where an agent has a property listed but the vast majority of people do not know about it.
Another Opportunity!
What if a property does not get listed Monday to Wednesday? Then that is often even better! A property listed on a Thursday or Friday cannot make the open house list and cannot make the weekend paper, so there is at least one week where this property is not advertised in print. Maybe it is on the internet, but even if it is you have at least a week of ‘inspection by appointment’ where you can avoid inspecting at Open Houses, which is a distinct advantage.
Make your agent your weekend buddy!
You should also know that almost every property you see that comes up as a fresh listing on property websites on a Monday (especially in the morning) has been listed for at least a few days. This is because most agents don’t work Sunday and they don’t list them that quickly on a Monday, which tells us that they have had the listing since at least Saturday. This gives you a good reason to be in contact with your preferred agents late Saturday or even Sunday (be careful not to put them off-side though! Perhaps an email on a Sunday would be your best option!).
Advertising vs Listing
The important lesson here is to know and understand the difference between when a property is listed and an agent is willing to tell you about it, and when a property is first advertised, which in reality can be well after the property has actually hit the market.
To improve your buying you need to know about listings before they are advertised. Follow the tips and opportunities presented in this article and you are well on your way!
And for those who would rather become a ‘full time buyer’, Investigate Property is currently finding good investment properties in Brisbane for clients. For more information on becoming a member and the benefits, click here.
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