First Time Buyers’ do NOT have an easy journey in this market. This young couple did everything right. They were financially pre-qualified. They signed their Buyer Representation Agreement with their Realtor of choice 🙂 They made themselves available for visiting any property that fit their criteria AS SOON AS it was listed. They went to Open Houses on the week-ends. They had their certified deposit ready to go when it was time to present. They waited patiently in their car in the dark of night, hoping THIS TIME the house would be theirs! This happened about EIGHT TIMES!…and finally, finally, they were rewarded for their diligence and determination on the 9th house. No, first time buyers need a special mind-set to get the house of their dreams….oh, and as Stephen says, a “ludicrous amount of cash” does not hurt!
But don’t take my word for it. Read their story here! If you’re First Time Buyers, call me and let me know how I can help YOU today.
“As a young couple entering into the housing market we felt we had a fairly strong capacity to put up with the highs and lows of winning a successful bid. We started to take a look at homes at the beginning of January knowing that the market would be relatively slow at that point. We understood that our options at that time would be limited but never really expected the market to be as hot as it was. The first home we found, which we loved, sold 45.3% over asking. Wow, what a shot to the gut. We weren’t even close to the sold price. It was definitely a reality check to our expectations. We had to accept that there weren’t any hidden gems in Toronto anymore. If we found something that we loved, we needed to be aggressive in our approach. Over a span of three months we put in multiple bids on houses, sometimes a couple per week. We participated in multiple bidding wars on every house we offered on – lowest of 6 bids, highest of 21 bids. Over that three month period we continued to gauge our offers on what we valued the homes at and not what the market was willing to pay. Consistently we got outbid. Over asking sold prices ranged from 20% all the way to 47%. It was extremely disheartening and we actually begin to question if this was our reality. Is it this impossible for a young newlywed couple to step into the housing market? Will we be destined to rent forever? As the months grew on it seemed as if the amount of available properties remained stagnant. High demand and limited supply meant every house we grew fond of would be a tight battle. We knew that if we wanted to be successful in buying our first home we’d need to push our offers to our highest (comfortable) budget. Finally three months and nine houses later we locked in our first home. It’s hard to say if it was our solid offer that closed the deal or if the current owners wanted to see a Stephen living on Stephen Dr. That one is still up for debate. That being said, the whole ordeal was a challenge. Multiple open houses, late night showings, and sitting in a car for hours just to be told “hey, can you do a little bit more?” was definitely a struggle. We’re euphoric with the idea that we now own a place we can call “our own”, but will not forget what it took to get here. It’s an extremely tough market and it will toy with your emotions, your optimism, and your dreams. We truly wish all the best to those trying to complete the same dreams we were. Your endurance and mental strength will be tested but your patience will ultimately help you be successful – a ludicrous amount of cash doesn’t hurt either though.”
S & N.