Buying property unassisted? You need a strong strategy

In conversation with Smart Property Investment, he said Arjun’s point was “spot on”.

“If you’re not getting represented by a buyer’s agent, you have to acknowledge and understand that you’re competing against someone who’s got a buyer’s agent in their corner,” he said.

From Mr Handler’s perspective, “if you’re trying to run around in this market, as just a normal buyer, thinking you know what you’re doing, and thinking that you’re just going to get a good deal, I think that you need to think again.”

Highlighting that the current market is a seller’s market, and that there are people out there who are still trying to transact, Mr Handler said it can be risky to buy right now.

“You’ve got to weigh up: what happens if you’re on the market in two months from now? What does that look like to your budget? What does that look like to your requirements, and what you want to achieve?” he said.

Reiterating that it is “crazy competitive”, Mr Handler conceded it is very difficult to buy – “and there’s a high chance that if you get it wrong, and it turns, you are going to be most likely screwed, because you’re paying at a very high price”.

While that’s often a risk investors are taking, Mr Handler has expressed concern that there are too many unsophisticated buyers looking to buy property right now.

The question is: “What makes them think they’re going to win in this market? What makes someone think, that in the most competitive market we’ve ever had, that they are going to have a good chance of buying a good property, at a good price?” he said.

To avoid taking unnecessary risks, Mr Handler is urging buyers “to be very clear on their strategy, [and] on how they’re going to execute in this market”.

“I don’t think a lot of buyers really consider that,” he mused, before offering up a rhetorical question: “What are buyers doing to get market ready, and to compete in this fiercely insane market?”