5 Tips to Buy a Home in a Low-inventory Housing Market

If you have been struggling to grab that one dream home in this low inventory housing market, you have come to the right place. Here, I have thoughtfully outlined five tips to buy a home while the inventory is low.

For the past few months, the Canadian housing market is staying relatively tight for buyers; it has been a seller's market. And everyone knows that in a seller's market, prices are skyrocketing while listings remain low.

Before I share the tips to buy a home in a seller's market, let me first define different types of housing markets.

Types of Housing Markets

Seller's Market: In a seller's market, there are more home buyers than home sellers. The listing period in a seller's market is usually low and houses are sold quickly, over the seller's asking price. Here, the market is in the seller's favour.

Buyer's Market: In a buyer's market, there are more home sellers in the market, than home buyers. Here, the listing period is often more compared to the seller's market. And since buyers have more options to buy from, the prices are usually market-competitive, giving buyers an edge to negotiate more than a seller's expectations.

Balanced Market: In a balanced market, as the name sounds, the demand and supply are almost equivalent. Homes are in abundance, and so are the homebuyers. It is the market where everyone goes home happy. And the listing period is reasonable and so is the home price.

How do You Buy a Home in a Seller's Market?

Be Informed

Since you already know that it is a seller's market, you need to stay sharp. Keep a close eye on housing listings.

For this, you could subscribe to the email listing so that you're prompted whenever there is a move in listings. If a subscription is not available, you could keep visiting your local real agent's website, and find if there is a home available for you.

Additionally, you could follow your favourite real estate professional's Facebook page. They might have something valuable for you.

Know Your Budget

This is a step prior to applying for a mortgage. List down what you need and what you could sacrifice.

In today's unpredictable situation, it's imperative that you run a tight budget if you want to acquire a home.

Make sure you have a stable income source, could differentiate between your needs and wants and set aside a hefty sum as your savings.

This would help you not only manage your monthly mortgage payments but would also help you save for the down payment.

Act Fast

Since you're already vigilant and updated with listings when you receive an update from your local real estate professional and you get a house of your choice, don't delay; act fast.

As soon as you find your desired house, reach out to the real estate professional and make an offer.

Make a Strong Offer

Since this is a seller's market, prices are deemed to be higher than expectations. If you really want to acquire a house, you need to make an undeniable offer so that the seller looks no further and shakes hands only with you.

Even if it feels that you have paid more than the current market value, it wouldn't be considered a loss. Real estate is always in an upward direction. However, their growth pace may slow down with time.

Read this post stating that home prices in Canada are on the rise but soon will stabilize.

Work with a Professional

It is never a good idea to buy a home with no help at all. Buying a home is a lengthy process, additionally, you never know if this is a good option for you or not unless you are an expert in this field.

For instance, other than the documentation required in the process, you also need to make sure that the house you're buying has no hidden problems. For this, you acquire the services of a professional licensed home inspector. The inspector would investigate if the house requires any renovations or fixing or is it good to go.

Whereas for a professional real estate agent, it's a matter of routine work. They are experts and have in-depth knowledge of buying and selling a home. They would make the entire process extremely convenient and would help in buying the best home you deserve.

Bottom Line

Some experts are of the view that later this year, the housing market would soon start stabilizing; home prices would witness a standard growth rate. But the houses would still be more expensive than today.

So, if you really want to buy a new home, it is about time and make your move. Check out our bungalow listings. We always try to keep them updated and help in buying the best home you truly want.