{"id":23215,"date":"2026-07-30T00:56:07","date_gmt":"2026-07-30T00:56:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mortgagecrushers.com.au\/?p=23215"},"modified":"2026-07-30T00:56:08","modified_gmt":"2026-07-30T00:56:08","slug":"how-to-avoid-this-common-home-buyer-trap","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mortgagecrushers.com.au\/?p=23215","title":{"rendered":"How to avoid this common home buyer trap"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Waiting for home prices to \u2018bottom out\u2019 before buying may seem like a smart strategy but it could work against you. Here are the risks of holding out and hoping for lower prices.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s no secret that some of the heat is coming out of the property market.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Home buyers are now under less pressure to make a rushed decision<\/a>, and more homes are coming onto the market, giving buyers greater choice<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But holding off and waiting for prices to reach a low point may be a high-risk strategy \u2013 and it could work against you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We look at the potential pitfalls of trying to time the market with the aim of buying when prices are lowest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Prices are cooling \u2013 not tanking<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

First, a quick recap of what\u2019s happening in the property market.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Home prices are shifting downward or levelling off in some areas, mainly as a result of interest rate pressures, stretched affordability, and tighter investor tax rules.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But these are far from \u2018fire sale\u2019 conditions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a guide, June saw values fall in Sydney (down 1.2%), Melbourne (1.0%) and Canberra (0.6%), Cotality<\/a> data shows.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, prices continued to climb across Brisbane (up 0.3%), Perth (0.7%), Darwin (1.4%) and Hobart (0.6%) as well as regional markets (up 0.3%). In Adelaide values held steady for the month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How home values move in the months ahead is unclear. And frankly, not even the experts agree on this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What we can say is that no one rings a bell to announce that prices have bottomed out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And this is where those who put buying plans on the backburner with the expectation of further price falls can face key risks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It can mean facing more competition if other buyers pile into the \u201cweak\u201d market<\/a>, potentially forcing prices to rise again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It may also mean missing out on a property that ticks all your boxes, just because you think you could get something a bit cheaper in a few months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The risks of trying to outsmart the market<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Right now, we are seeing a variety of property price predictions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But past events have shown that forecasts can be inaccurate, sometimes wildly so.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the early days of COVID, for instance, some tipsters suggested property values could drop by 10%<\/a>, or even 20%<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In reality, home prices rose 24.6%<\/a> within two years of the start of the pandemic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Clearly, the situation is very different today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But the basic rule still holds \u2013 we usually only know that home prices have reached a low point after<\/em> the event.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The thing is, several of the main factors that have helped drive home prices higher in recent times are still in play today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Australia still faces a shortage of homes for people to live in<\/a>. And our population continues to grow<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The upshot is that holding out with the aim of buying when prices are at their lowest may sound like a sensible strategy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But it\u2019s a lot easier said than done, and it often relies more on good luck than good timing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Focus on what you can control<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The past five years have seen home prices nationally increase by more than 34%<\/a>.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Those sorts of long term gains could eclipse the short term savings of today\u2019s softer market.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, instead of trying to second guess the market, it can be worth focusing on what you can control \u2013 and that\u2019s your own home buying plans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As mentioned, today\u2019s market offers improved choice, and sellers who may be more open to negotiating on price<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Both are a plus for home buyers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Talk to us today. You could be home loan-ready right now, and that could see you benefit from today\u2019s more buyer-friendly market.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Disclaimer:<\/strong> The content of this article is general in nature and is presented for informative purposes. It is not intended to constitute tax or financial advice, whether general or personal nor is it intended to imply any recommendation or opinion about a financial product. It does not take into consideration your personal situation and may not be relevant to your circumstances. Before taking any action, consider your own particular circumstances and seek professional advice. This content is protected by copyright laws and various other intellectual property laws. It is not to be modified, reproduced or republished without prior written consent.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Waiting for home prices to \u2018bottom out\u2019 before buying may seem like a smart strategy but it could work against you. Here are the risks of holding out and hoping for lower prices.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-23215","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mortgagecrushers.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23215","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mortgagecrushers.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mortgagecrushers.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mortgagecrushers.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mortgagecrushers.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=23215"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/mortgagecrushers.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23215\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23216,"href":"https:\/\/mortgagecrushers.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23215\/revisions\/23216"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mortgagecrushers.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=23215"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mortgagecrushers.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=23215"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mortgagecrushers.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=23215"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}