With over 75% more listings on Trademe than this time last year, it’s not easy keeping tabs on your options.
In Lower Hutt alone, there’s currently over 70 new build listings across dozens of developments.
That’s a lot of scrolling.
So what’s the most effective way to make sure you pick the right one?
Watchlisting is a great start.
But if you’re serious about buying, you’ll want to see how pricing changes over time in order to determine a trend.
The best way to do that?
A Trademe Price Tracking tool.
This will give you confidence when approaching a real estate agent.
Let’s dive in.
Step 1: Watchlist 5 Properties on Trademe
Pick 5 properties you’d like to track.
These can be a mix of new builds and existing homes but the tool works best if you pick one or the other.
Add them to your watchlist on Trademe.
Time: 7 mins
Step 2: Set up your Price Tracker
Duplicate this Google Sheet template:
Next, populate the fields with the listings in your watchlist:
Time: 10 mins
Step 3: Update Prices Every Week
Every Monday for 6 weeks check for changes to your Trademe watchlist and update your price column accordingly.
⬜️ - No change in price
🟩 - Reduction in price
🟥 - Increase in price
⭐️ - Keep track of your preferred option
Time: 3 minutes x 6 weeks = 18 minutes
Step 4: Compare Results
Take a step back and analyze the data.
Which property prices had the largest change?
What do you think the best value for money is?
Did your preference change?
Step 5: Call the agent
Now that you’ve got some figures under your belt, give the listing agent a call and ask them a few questions:
Why has X dropped $30k in the last month?
Why have you priced X at $719k when just down the road, Y is priced at $700k with a carpark?
Is that price negotiable?
Have you had any offers at X development this month?
Do you see how some simple admin can help give you valuable negotiating leverage?
I hope you take this tool and run with it.
This is Step 4 of 7 in the ‘7 Baby Steps to Buy a New Build in 2023’, a blog I posted last week.
If you got any value from this, I think you'll enjoy that blog too.
_________
Hi I’m Hausia,
I help first home buyers make better buying decisions.
If you want access to arguably the best off-the-plans mortgage advisor in Lower Hutt, click ‘contact us’ below or head straight to his website here.
If you have any questions about something you've read in the blog, email me at hausia@faisandier.group.