Key takeaways
Knowing what you want in a first home is one step. Understanding offers, auctions and negotiation is another.
First-home buyers may need to weigh their must-haves, possible compromises and what they feel comfortable spending.
A buyer’s agent can help first-home buyers prepare for auction, assess their options and negotiate with the selling agent.
Having room in your budget doesn’t mean you need to spend it all. Consider your options before increasing an offer.
Finding a first home you can picture yourself living in can be exciting. It can also bring questions you haven’t had to answer before:
What should you offer? How do you prepare for an auction? And how do you respond if the seller asks for more than you expected?
You might have spent months researching properties and worked out exactly what you want, yet still want support when it comes to buying. A buyer’s agent can help assess a property, prepare you for auction and negotiate on your behalf.
For first-home buyer Jug Ram, that support became particularly valuable when he found an apartment he could picture calling home. After years of searching and bidding at his first auction, he was ready to pay $1.25 million to make it his.
Aussie Buyer’s Agent Jane Ricketts was on the phone with him. Before he agreed to that amount, she asked to speak with him privately. They discussed what he wanted to do and whether there was room to negotiate.
Jug ultimately bought the apartment for $1.22 million. That was $30,000 less than the amount he was prepared to pay at that moment.
For Jug, the experience also helped him feel more confident about the steps involved in buying.
Jane had talked him through possible auction scenarios before the day and stayed on the phone as he bid and negotiated.
Years of searching and a very specific wish list
After moving from Perth to Adelaide in 2020, Jug recalls starting to look into buying around 2022.
He describes a frustrating search, with few apartments that suited him and fewer options within his budget as the prices he encountered increased.
“The first issue I had was not finding enough properties,” Jug said. “The other challenge I faced was the pricing market because prices were just increasing and increasing.”
He had also spent considerable time researching buildings in the area. He started with a particular building in mind and wanted two bedrooms, sunlight for a balcony garden, a kitchen island and a walk-in wardrobe, alongside other requirements such as parking.
A new job allowed him to increase his budget, but he still found the search challenging. His mortgage broker, who was a friend, suggested looking into a buyer’s agent.
After researching his options and asking Aussie about the service, he began working with Jane.
Jane remembers how specific his brief was and how discouraged he sometimes felt. She kept checking in, contacting local agents and suggesting properties for him to inspect, including alternatives that did not meet every part of his original brief.
Jug says those inspections helped him work out what he wanted and what he could compromise on. Jane explained that an existing property might meet most of his wish list, with some features left for later improvements or accepted as trade-offs.
In the home he eventually bought, Jug says he made just one compromise: no walk-in wardrobe. “I can live without that if I’m getting a place like this,” he recalled thinking.
His experience gives buyers a useful question to consider: which features would you be comfortable going without if the rest of the home suited you?
Finding a home he wanted to pursue
Jug estimates they spent three to four months looking before making the offer on the apartment he bought.
Jane did not promise him an immediate result. He recalls her explaining that she could not give him a firm timeframe for finding a suitable home.
When Jug inspected the apartment, he could already imagine his life there. “I felt at home as soon as I walked in,” he said. He pictured where he would put his belongings and where he would sit with a coffee.
There was a financial step to work through first. The property was initially above his budget, and he says he rearranged funds and spoke with his parents. They liked the apartment and offered to help him reach a 20 per cent deposit.
That context matters to his story. His increased budget and his parents’ offer of support were part of what made pursuing the apartment possible.
Jane’s role was to help him assess and approach the purchase as he worked through those arrangements. Jug says Jane reviewed the property promptly and kept him updated through calls and messages.
For him, having a consistent contact meant he could ask questions and understand what was happening as they moved from interest in the apartment to making an offer.
You might also be interested in: First home buyers – Choosing home loans that leave more room for living
Preparing for more than one auction outcome
Before auction day, Jane raised an option Jug had not known about: making a pre-auction offer.
He recalls her explaining that they needed pre-approval in place before proceeding with that approach. Once the funds and pre-approval were ready, they submitted an offer.
The sellers did not accept their offers, and the property proceeded to auction. Jug says Jane continued following up with the selling agent and kept him informed, including when they learned the auction would go ahead.
They then talked through how the auction might unfold. What if nobody bids? What if someone else started bidding? What if the sellers wanted more than the highest bid?
Jug says discussing possible scenarios was particularly helpful because he likes to plan.
“The other thing that was very important for me, because I love to be prepared and plan in my head at least, was going through the scenarios of what could happen, what we would do in this situation and what we would do in that situation.”
For buyers preparing for an auction in South Australia, the state government explains that auction sales are unconditional and cannot be made subject to finance.
It also advises completing any arranged building inspections beforehand. There is no cooling-off period for a purchase at auction or later on the same day.
Pre-approval is generally conditional and does not guarantee final loan approval. Before bidding, check your finance position with your broker or lender and seek legal guidance on the contract and obligations that apply to the purchase.
Jug’s preparation covered how he and Jane would communicate, too. He would attend and make the bids himself, while she stayed on the phone to provide guidance.
He had friends there for support, as well as someone familiar with the buying process in his ear.
A buyer’s agent on the phone through every bid
On auction day, Jug remembers feeling surprisingly calm at first. Three bidders participated, including him.
As bidding progressed, it came down to Jug and another couple, with Jane talking him through when to respond.
He says she encouraged him to keep his expression steady and respond confidently. They had a spending ceiling, and he recalls remaining within it as his bid reached approximately $1.205 million. Even then, the sale was not settled.
The South Australian Government explains that if bidding does not reach the reserve price, a seller may choose to negotiate with bidders, keep the property unsold or offer it on the open market.
The highest bid alone does not establish that a sale has been completed.
In Jug’s account, the selling team took him aside to discuss a higher price. He put Jane on speaker so she could speak with them, then took her off speaker for a private conversation about what he wanted to do next.
“I have my thoughts, but what do you want to do?” he recalls Jane asking. His answer was that he was happy to pay $1.25 million. At that point, he says, he wanted to get the purchase done.
Jane remembers encouraging him to trust her and continue negotiating. From her perspective, the other bidders dropping out gave them a position from which to have that conversation with the selling team.
Jug and Jane discussed increasing the offer to $1.22 million. He felt comfortable with that figure and says it aligned with the lender’s valuation.
They put it to the selling team, who consulted the owners, and the property sold for that amount.
For Jug, the $30,000 difference came from pausing before agreeing to the amount he was ready to pay.
Jane represented him in the conversation, while he remained involved in deciding what he was comfortable offering.
You might also be interested in: How do property auctions work? A buyer's guide
What buying with confidence felt like
Looking calm did not mean Jug felt no nerves. “That was probably the calmest I’ve ever looked on the outside, but I felt every single one of my ribs because my heart was pounding so hard,” he said.
His account shows how preparation and support worked together. He had discussed the possible scenarios before arriving, understood that further negotiation might be needed, and had someone to turn to when it happened.
“In hindsight, now I could easily go to an auction and do it by myself,” Jug said. “But going in as a first-home buyer, not knowing anything about property, absolutely zero about purchasing property, it was so helpful to have someone by my side.”
Jug had researched the homes he liked, but he still describes himself as a beginner when it came to purchasing one.
His experience highlights the difference between understanding your preferences and feeling ready to handle the offers, bidding, and negotiations involved in a purchase.
Jane’s support also continued after the auction. Jug says she explained what to expect next, recommended a conveyancer and remained his main point of contact. He picked up the keys around a month later.
Reflecting on the experience, Jug said: “I would say I was well supported and kept in the loop with everything that was happening.”
For him, confidence came from being informed and having support available through each decision.
You might also be interested in: Buying at auction vs private treaty
Could a buyer’s agent help with your first home?
Jane says first-home buyers can arrive after months of searching, feeling fed up with the process.
In her work, she helps assess properties, speaks with selling agents, and checks whether options are likely to sit within a client’s price range.
She also sees value in taking pressure off buyers during negotiations. In Jug’s case, that included updates, pre-auction offers and conversations about how to manage the auction.
Her involvement extended beyond waiting for him to send through a listing.
Aussie’s Buyer’s Agent service options include property appraisals and due diligence, negotiation, auction support and settlement support.
The search and inspection inclusions vary by service, so ask which option fits the help you are looking for.
Buyer’s Agent services carry fees. Ask for the total cost, payment timing, and inclusions before engaging one. The $30,000 comparison in Jug’s story does not deduct those fees, and another buyer may have a different outcome.
If you’re considering support, start with the decisions you would like help making:
Are you struggling to assess listings, prepare for an auction or negotiate with a selling agent? Those questions can help you explain what you need during an initial conversation.
Want to understand what support could look like for your first home? Talk to an Aussie Buyer’s Agent about your property plans, the service options and fees.
