Boston is a hot market for real estate, with no signs of slowing down anytime soon, so homebuyers on a budget need to set realistic expectations and figure out a strategy to set themselves apart from the crowd.
U.S. News spoke with some of Boston’s top real estate agents, as identified by Agent Explore, a real estate technology company (and a U.S. News partner), on how they help their clients find a home that stays within their budget, yet makes the most out of their money.
Be Ready.
“The market is so incredibly tight right now,” says Stephen Matthews, a real estate agent with Real Living Schruender Real Estate. “You’ve got to be one of the first ones in there and have your offer ready.”
One strategy he has successfully employed is setting tight deadlines for a seller to accept an offer, say within 24 hours. For that to work, he says, buyers need to have an offer ready and all their financials in order. A drawback of his strategy, he says, is it can backfire if several buyers get into a bidding war.
[Read: 3 Boston Neighborhoods to Buy a Home if You Love the Outdoors.]
David J. Oliveri, an agent with Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices N.E. Prime Properties, says, “I urge buyers to get preapproved immediately. The buyer must be financially qualified before moving forward in any sort of buying process.”
Christian Iantosca, managing broker of Arborview Realty, says, “Go through everything with your lender to figure out how soon you can close and what financing you can expect. Most sellers now will dictate an ideal close date to you, and the buyers can usually make this timeline work if they have their ducks in a row. I have seen buyers lose out on properties, even though they had the highest offer, because they were not flexible enough to meet the sellers’ requirement.”
Be Educated.
Oliveri says buyers should understand the market and their financial situation, which is what a good real estate agent should be able to help clients navigate. “You have to be educated,” he says. “A lot of people don’t understand things like debt-to-income ratios, which is why I advise all clients to speak with a mortgage consultant prior to searching for homes. There’s no reason to look without knowing how much you can spend.”
Matthews and Oliveri are both wary of waiving too many contingencies. Matthews says, “There are some things you can do like waiving a home inspection contingency. But I don’t advise my clients to do that.”
First-time buyers often can get assistance or incentives from their city to help with things like down payments, which Matthews says buyers and their agents should seek out. Sometimes, though, the deal has certain stipulations, such as the buyers may be required to stay in the home for a certain amount of time.
Be Ahead of the Curve.
Oliveri says, “Look at up-and-coming neighborhoods. Get into a neighborhood early. Look at outlying areas.”
[Read: 5 Up-and-Coming Neighborhoods to Buy a Boston Home.]
He stresses that anywhere near public transportation is a good bet. “Pick neighborhoods that are walking distance to transit,” he says. “I think that is so huge. People want to jump on the train and go to work.”
Matthews says it’s important not to get too focused on one specific neighborhood. “Don’t get locked into one area,” he says. “Look at different communities.”
Another approach is to look for homes when other people aren’t. Spring is the usual time for open houses and when the market ramps up. Oliveri says it can be less competitive in the fall, with fewer people vying for houses. “There may be less inventory, but more opportunity,” he says. “People are focused on the holidays.”
Iantosca says, “Take the time to have a market statistic consultation with a local top buyer’s agent who has the knowledge of the market. They will be able to tell you important information like the trending days to offer and list-price-to-sale-price ratio before you look at any homes.”
“Many buyers are looking for a long-term home and brokers should be knowledgeable about the neighborhood where they are looking and what development and/or changes are on tap for that neighborhood,” Iantosca adds. “With Boston undergoing a construction boom, there are new buildings coming up in almost every neighborhood that will affect homes in the area. Agents should be able to educate buyers as to what is coming into their prospective neighborhood.”
Be Creative.
Iantosca says, “Oftentimes, a young family is trying desperately to get into the neighborhood of their dreams, and they have a great story behind why they want to live there. In those cases, I advise buyers to compose a great buyer letter that is specifically directed toward the seller.”
[Read: 3 Things Boston Homebuyers Should Do Before Attending an Open House.]
Matthews says agents can get very creative when helping their clients find a home. He’s knocked on doors in neighborhoods his clients are interested in and sent letters to people in communities asking if they might be interested in selling.
“If you don’t ask, you don’t get,” Matthews says. “You need to differentiate yourself in a competitive situation. If you have a bunch of cookie-cutter offers and you can do just one thing to make yourself stand out, it can make the difference.”
Oliveri agrees, saying, “Do what other people aren’t. Put together a nice letter and mail to a neighborhood. Knock on doors. Do what you have to do.”
This personal touch can be the difference between getting a home or not.
“In this market where sellers are already often getting well above their asking price, it is not uncommon for someone to accept an offer from a family looking to put down roots as opposed to an investor that will rent out the property to the highest bidder,” Iantosca says. “Sellers tend to take comfort in selling to others like themselves.”
Looking for a real estate agent in Boston? U.S. News’ Find an Agent tool can match you with the person who’s most qualified for the job.
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