You’ve probably read or heard that the current real estate market is either fantastic or ridiculous, depending on whether you’re a buyer or seller. And in this post, we’ll focus on buyers, many of whom will tell you that buying right now can challenge even the most patient buyers.

Most prospective buyers begin their home search with a trip to the Google machine where they search for “Homes for sale near me” or “Homes for sale…” in a specific city or neighborhood. You hit “enter,” get instant results and before you know it, you’re happily looking at pretty pictures of homes… that may or may not actually be for sale.

It’s true: the market for buyers right now might best be described as fast and furious. But that doesn’t mean you can’t find and buy the perfect home for you and your family. It does mean you’ll need to be a little better prepared than in years past. To help, we’ve put together a few key tips to help you with your home search.

1. SEARCHING ONLINE

Searching online is a completely legit way to start educating yourself on how much home you’ll get for your money in any given city or neighborhood. But, in a fast-moving market, one of the most common challenges buyers run into is, they find a house online and by the time they inquire with a real estate agent, the house already has an accepted offer. The best way to stay ahead of other buyers in such conditions is to set up a home search with a Realtor®.

The advantage is this: Your Realtor, along with most of the other realtors in your market area, is a member in good standing of their local MLS (multiple listing service). Every time any member Realtor signs a contract to sell a home for one of their clients, they list the property on their respective MLS. Eventually, that listing will make its way to all of the national real estate websites like Realtor.com and Zillow. But if you have a search already set up with your Realtor®, you’ll get a notification of the new listing and, in some cases, you’ll get notified several hours ahead of other buyers, which gives you what can be a critical advantage in a fast-moving market.

So, feel free to browse online all you want. But when you’re ready to get serious about buying, reach out to your Realtor to have them set up your very own customized search. (Contact us and we’d be happy to set up your search.)

2. KNOW YOUR BUDGET

Obviously, it’s very important to know your budget or budget range. (If you’re not certain what your budget is, your best first step is to speak with your lender. And if you don’t currently have a preferred lender, we are certainly happy to connect you with one of our trusted lender partners. But a good starting point is to speak with someone at a bank or credit union where you already do business. This is especially true for first-time home buyers. For now, we recommend that you stay away from the national, online-only lenders.)

When determining a realistic budget, you probably want to pick a few key numbers: the lowest end of your budget range will help you see properties that may or may not meet all your needs. The next number to know is what you’d like to spend ideally, which should be a number that you are entirely comfortable with. The last number to know, of course, is the absolute maximum amount you’re willing and able to spend on a house or property.

Now that you have a budget, you’ll want to keep in mind that list prices are often only a starting point. In hot markets, buyers often end up paying 5-10% above the asking price.

Conversely, in frenzied markets some buyers or their Realtors may have overpriced a house in the hopes that they’ll get lucky. Sellers who have listed a home at an unrealistic price will often have to cut their price at some point after listing it, which can also work to a buyer’s advantage. So, as a buyer, you may want to set your budget ceiling for search purposes up to $25,000 or more over your maximum budget in order to capture properties that might be overpriced or may otherwise be subject to a later price cut.

For example, if your maximum budget is $500,000, you might want to keep tabs on homes listed up to $525,000. Then, if you see a house that you love and it sits on the market for say a week or more, that could be the market voting that the property isn’t worth $525,000, which tells you there might be room to make a lower offer or that a price cut is likely.

Lastly, no matter what your budget is or what neighborhood you want to be in, an experienced Realtor can help you navigate the complexities of today’s fast-paced market and help you negotiate a winning strategy to land your next home.

We’re here to help! Don’t hesitate to reach out anytime.