The complete guide to buying a house in the Adelaide Hills in 2022.
For the past two years, the Adelaide Hills real estate market changed dramatically. It’s been a historic seller’s market, with record-high sale prices.
We saw a global trend of people moving away from cities, choosing a tree or sea-change. This lifestyle shift is happening locally, with more people moving to the Adelaide Hills from other areas and states.
Mount Barker was a top-selling suburb for real estate in 2020 and 2021.
If your house for sale Adelaide Hills search starts this year, use this guide as your starting point.
Step 1: Evaluate your situation
How are you positioned right now to enter the property market? Are you ready, emotionally and financially?
What is your desired Adelaide Hills location to buy property and are you flexible in where you ultimately settle? What’s more important, location or the house price? What’s your current timeframe? Are you secure in your job and do you have a strong financial track record? Are you eligible for any Government grants?
This exploratory stage is all about answering questions. Don’t rush this part and do as much emotional and practical preparation as possible.
This will help inform your process moving forward. Finding a home, especially the one you plan to settle in, is one of life’s biggest moments. While the house is the end prize, it’s a journey that you might only do once or twice. Do your best to enjoy it and have a team to help empower you.
Step 2: Organise your finances
Sit down with a financial institution or mortgage lender as early in the process as possible.
Once you know how much you can borrow to buy an Adelaide Hills property, you can speak with your family and accountant to decide what and where you can afford. Everyone’s situation is unique and it’s necessary to get a snapshot of your entire financial situation – savings, assets, personal debt, and future goals.
This provides clarity when you begin your house search.
The historically low interest rates of the past two years will undoubtedly change. Although some have already risen, it’s still a lucrative time with low interest rates.
NAB predicts an RBA rise to 0.5% in September and 0.75% in December. The long-term forecast is 1.5% by December 2023.
When speaking with a lender, find out about interest rates, the fees and loan terms, if you can withdraw funds, how often interest is calculated, and if you’re penalised for making additional payments.
Decide if a fixed or variable interest rate is best for your situation.
Beyond the home loan deposit, there’s the Lender’s Mortgage Insurance (for a down payment of less than 20%), stamp duty, legal and conveyancing, mortgage application and settlement fees, home and content’s insurance, house inspections, real estate agent costs, and removalists.
Step 3: Research properties
At any point in the process, you can get in touch with our team of real estate agents. Nitschke is here for your family, for every chapter and every generation.
Importantly, you don’t have to be ready to buy to reach out to us. We’re here to guide you through the process, even if buying a house will take you years.
If you’ve gone through the process of evaluating your situation and finances, it’s time for us to have a chat about your house and location preferences, guided by your budget.
Keep in mind access to work, schools, shops, and public transport. Research upcoming developments, the character of different towns across the Adelaide Hills, and recent sale prices in your target suburbs.
Having us with you during the house buying process, you also get our experience, counsel, emotional support, and early access to properties that are selling privately – to improve your chances of securing your top preferences.
There are so many variables that impact where you choose to target your location search. So, we help you put your best foot forward to increase the success of your applications. Stay flexible and don’t give up. Because, you only need one!
Step 4: Prepare for purchase
Check you have everything in order, so you can move quickly in the application process. At this stage, you’ll need to have engaged a conveyancer, a property inspector, and complete a property valuation.
The contract will be signed and the deposit sent to the vendor. The conveyancer will check the sale contract. Following this, there will be a change of ownership, titles will be transferred, and you’ll be holding the keys to your new Adelaide Hills property.
Your family of real estate agents in the Adelaide Hills
Nitschke are champions of your biggest real estate dreams. We put people before profit. And bring realness, openness, and humanness to real estate. Because the house is just the transaction. We help you love both where you live and the journey getting there.
If you want to buy a house in the Adelaide Hills, now or in the year to come, let’s chat on 8391 5004.
