It’s one of the most common questions I get asked, and it’s the one that quietly stops a lot of people from making a move at all. They want to upgrade, downsize, or shift to a new area, but they get stuck on the chicken-and-egg of it. Do I sell my home first and risk having nowhere to go? Or do I buy first and risk being caught with two homes on my hands?
Right now, with the market more balanced than it’s been for a while, I’m hearing it even more often. People are reluctant to list because they’re not sure it’s a good time to be selling. So before we go any further, let me put your mind at rest on that point. The decision of whether to buy or sell first has far less to do with where the market is sitting, and a lot more to do with your own situation and what you’re trying to achieve. Let me walk you through it…
The first mistake people make is trying to read the market before they’ve worked out what they actually want. Get clear on the move first. Are you chasing more space, a better location, a lower mortgage, or a lifestyle change? Once you know what you’re moving towards and why, the buy-or-sell-first question gets a lot easier to answer, because you can weigh each path against the outcome you’re after rather than against a headline.
For most owners, selling first is the smarter play, and it’s the approach the majority of experienced sellers tend to favour. Here’s why. Once your home is sold, you know exactly how much you have to spend. There’s no guessing, no hoping the numbers work out. You become a cash buyer, which puts you in a far stronger position when you find the home you want. You can make a clean offer without a house-sale condition hanging over it, and you’re never under pressure to accept a low offer on your own place just to make a settlement date work.
The trade-off, of course, is the worry of selling without knowing precisely where you’re going next. It’s a real concern, and I’d never dismiss it. But with plenty of houses to choose from at the moment, that gap is usually far easier to bridge than people fear.
TIP: You can also negotiate an extended settlement when selling your own property. 3-4 months is not uncommon.
Buying first makes sense in a narrower set of circumstances, and it’s worth being honest about them. If the type of home you’re after is genuinely rare, the kind that only comes up once or twice a year in your area, then waiting until you’ve sold could mean missing the one you really want. In that case, having the flexibility to move when the right property appears can be worth it. The same goes if you have the financial backup to carry both homes comfortably for a while, whether that’s through bridging finance or the option of renting one out.
Buying first without that backup is where people tend to come unstuck, so it pays to have your finances sorted before you commit either way.
If you’re still on the fence, work through these:
How rare is the home you’re looking for? If similar properties come up regularly, selling first is low-risk.
How would each scenario actually feel? Some people sleep fine owning two homes for a few months, others would find it unbearable.
And what does your bank or mortgage adviser say about your options? That conversation should happen early, because it often makes the decision for you.
Here’s the part that gets overlooked. When you’re buying and selling in the same market, it tends to even itself out. Whatever the conditions are doing to the price you sell for, they’re doing the same to the price of the home you’re buying, so you’re not actually losing ground by moving now. On top of that, a more balanced market usually means more choice and less competition on the home you want to buy. Once you’ve sold, you’ll often find it easier to secure the right next home than you would in a frantic, fast-moving market. That’s a genuine advantage, not a reason to sit on your hands.
And let me be clear about something. Good homes still sell well in any market when they’re presented and positioned properly. A balanced market doesn’t change that. It just means the strategy matters more.
This is where the right advice earns its keep. A good salesperson will look at your home before it goes anywhere near the market and tell you exactly what’s worth doing to maximise your result. Where to spend a little, where not to bother, how to position the property so the right buyers take notice. Get that part right and you give yourself every chance of a strong sale, whatever the market is doing.
If you’ve been putting off a move because you can’t decide which way around to do it, the best first step is simply to find out what your home is worth today. Once you know that number, the whole decision becomes a great deal clearer.
To get a free, no-obligation appraisal of your home, get in touch today.
Selling your home is a major life event. Getting the process right can save huge amounts of time and stress. It’s also a one-off opportunity to maximise your net worth. Use these tips to increase your chances of securing a positive result. The real estate professional you select is critical Many owners make the mistake … […]
When it comes to selling your home, the first and most important principle to understand is: You get one chance to do it right. Houses are at their most popular when they first go on the market. So you want to avoid making initial compromises that could have a negative impact on the final result. … […]