Score a home run

Follow these steps before you head out on your marathon house hunt, writes Sophie Elsworth

THE home-buying journey has become a marathon, with property buyers now taking more than two years before they are even ready to make an offer on a home, new research shows.

The ability to borrow money has become tougher in Australia, even as property price growth has slowed in most locations. But experts say speeding up the home-buying process can be done if you have a plan of attack.

New analysis by RFi Group on behalf of realestate.com.au has found, of 1200 property buyers surveyed, it took an average 27.5 months to go from the research stage to making offers on properties.

Realestate.com.au’s director of financial services, Andrew Russell, said arming yourself with knowledge will help make property ownership happen more quickly.

“Gather information and understand the language of the market, spend time in suburbs and get a good understanding of the valuations and what properties are worth,” he said.

“Understand how much you can borrow and overlay it with your lifestyle and whether you can afford this property.”

Buying a home is one of the biggest investments you will ever make, so plenty of research is essential to ensuring you are realistic with your expectations.

“The market is certainly slowing and there are less good quality properties on the market, so that’s making it harder for people to find the property of their dreams,” Mr Russell said.

“Because the competition is so hot, if you are not prepared to be able to bid with confidence then you are missing out. To be ready you have to get your lending in place.”

Realestate.com.au’s online mortgage experience allows users to get on-the-spot conditional approval by searching, finding and completing a purchase in one place.

Buyer’s agent Ben Weeding said having pre-approval sorted is vital so you know exactly what you can afford. “A lot of people go out and start looking and they might see something they like, then they get pre-approval and realise they can’t borrow the amount of money they need,” he said. “Have a list of must-haves and nice-to-haves.”

Mr Weeding said would-be buyers should have their financial affairs in order, including tax returns, and know their credit score.