How to keep a level head during property negotiations

If you are one of the thousands of potential buyers beginning the journey to home ownership, you may be wondering how to keep a level head during this notoriously stressful period.

While a property purchase should be a purely rational decision, the reality is this is not always the case. As a prospective home buyer, you are likely to go through a range of emotions during the purchasing process. You might want to find the ‘perfect home’ for your family, you may fall in love with a property on sight, or you could have a strong vision in your head of what your next home will look like.

There are endless ways your emotions can come into play when you are looking to buy a home. So, are you leaving your emotions at the door?

A research project^ was undertaken to examine the extent that emotions can influence home buyers.

Interestingly, the research found that while 75% of property buyers claim to be rational rather than emotional buyers, in reality, emotions have a significant influence over their final purchasing decision.

The most common emotional characteristics that influence home buyers are:

• liking the feel/vibe of the property [37%]
• an instant attraction to the property [22%]
• suiting the personality of the buyer [21%]

What’s also telling are the top three most influential emotional characteristics between different types of buyers:

• subsequent home buyers are more likely to be influenced by having a vision of what they wanted before they moved in [22%]
• first home buyers are more likely to be influenced by the décor [19%]
• investors are more likely to be influenced by the place making them feel successful [17%]

How to keep your emotions in check

While you can’t always exclude emotions from the property purchasing process, it is important to always consider your original objectives and keep in mind your original budget.

Given that buying a property could be one of the biggest financial decisions you’ll ever make, it’s vital the final purchasing decision is ultimately based on a rational judgement – not your emotions.

Get pre-approved before you buy

We can help you get pre-approved bank finance so you know exactly how much you can borrow before you go house hunting – just call us on 08 8451 1500

Sam & Matt
Urbantech Group
>>  Adelaide’s Best Home Loans +plus more…

^ The study was conducted by Lonergan Research among 1,098 Australians aged 18 and over who have bought a property in the last five years or are looking to buy within the next two years. Fieldwork commenced on Friday 16 August and was completed on Monday 19 August 2013. After interviewing, data was weighted to the latest population estimates sourced from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.