6 tips for buying your Sunshine Coast property over the summer holidays

The summer season is officially here! If you are looking to buy your next Sunshine Coast property or Noosa property over the next few months, now is the perfect time to be familiar with these 6 tips for buying your Sunshine Coast property over the summer holidays.

1. Summer can be a quieter time in the Sunshine Coast real estate market

Spring usually marks the busiest home buying market of the year here on the Sunshine Coast and in Noosa. Vendors, selling agents and home buyers alike can often be more focused on making the most of family time and the holiday period in December so post Spring listings, the market can tend to slow down with more listings commencing again in January.

So if you are patient, wait and watch but expect more listings to appear in the new year. If your perfect property does come available in December just also bear in mind the public holidays over the Christmas period that can impact settlement timeframes and accessing services needed as part of any property purchase.

2. Consider your long term plans before buying any property

Knowing first what you want to achieve from your property – whether that be investment return, lifestyle, renovation or other girls – is critical to understand before you even look at properties over the summer period.

Holidaying in an area is not the same as living permanently there and many can get caught up in the romance of living by the beach when the reality may not be what they thought it would be.

2. Be sure about your property budget and borrowing capacity

Interest rates continue to rise as does cost of living, and this has resulted in reduced borrowing power for many people looking to purchase a property. Make sure you speak with your mortgage broker or lender before checking out homes, to know exactly what budget you can afford for your Sunshine Coast property purchase. Be aware of those ‘hidden’ costs in purchasing a property – from conveyancing, to building and pest and also stamp duty in Queensland – they all add up and impact how much you can actually offer on a property.

4. Be clear about the lifestyle you are looking for, if moving to the Sunshine Coast

Different parts of the Sunshine Coast offer very different lifestyles – and this is one of my first questions when I start working with clients, so that we are very clear on what area, suburb and even street/s would best suit them and what they are looking for. Do you want to be able to walk to the beach, or river, or be near shops and cafes / restaurants? Or do you prefer to live in a quieter area / street.  There are many elements to this question, and critical to be clear about the lifestyle to not make a property purchase that you later regret and be a costly mistake.

5. Orientation and home design for summer months on the coast is key

Over summer, the Sunshine Coast and Noosa can get very hot and humid, and orientation as well as design and features make ALL the difference to lifestyle and not spending the summer sweating through the heat. Sunshine Coast Council released a great design guide to maximise cool homes in our subtropical climate full of handy tips for home buyers and renovators alike.

6. Consider speaking to a local expert  (particularly if you aren’t local yourself)

Buying a Sunshine Coast home or Sunshine Coast investment property is such a huge commitment and there really is nothing like local knowledge and experts who can provide much-needed home buying tips and advice and know the suburbs and streets where properties are positioned or designed well for our climate, or even help manage the process for you to ensure you save money or make the right purchasing decision that you won’t regret.

Best of luck and enjoy your summer property searching!