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.
An Aussie Buyer's Agent can help you explore suitable properties, assess your options, prepare for auction and negotiate with selling agents.
For first-home buyer Jug Ram, that support came from Aussie Buyer's Agent Jane Ricketts, who helped him navigate his property search, assess his options and prepare for his first auction.
After years of searching, Jug finally found an apartment he could picture calling home. When negotiations reached a critical point, he was ready to pay $1.25 million to secure it.
But before he agreed to that amount, Jane asked Jug to take her off speakerphone so they could discuss his options privately, away from the selling team. They talked through whether there was still 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.
The comparison excludes buyer’s agent fees and other purchase costs; it is not a measure of net savings or a discount against an independently established market value.
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 Jug's property wish list was and how discouraged he sometimes felt during the search.
She worked with him to explore what was realistic within his budget, kept in touch with local selling agents, and suggested properties for him to inspect, including options that didn't tick every box.
For Jug, this approach helped him separate his must-haves from his nice-to-haves, identifying which features mattered most and where he could compromise.
Rather than focusing solely on his original wish list, he became more open to properties that could still feel like home, even if they didn't tick every box.
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.
As Jug worked through his finances, Jane helped him assess the property and consider how to approach the purchase.
Jug recalls that she reviewed the apartment promptly and kept him informed through calls and messages as they prepared to make an offer.
As a first-home buyer navigating the process for the first time, Jug found it helpful to have someone he could turn to with questions and who could help him understand his options before making a decision.
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.
How his buyer's agent helped him negotiate at auction
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 recalls seeing an opportunity to continue negotiating after the other bidders had dropped out. Rather than agreeing immediately to the $1.25 million Jug was prepared to pay, she encouraged him to consider his options.
They discussed increasing the offer to $1.22 million, a figure Jug says he felt comfortable with and that aligned with the lender's valuation.
With Jane representing him in the conversation with the selling team, they put forward the revised offer. The selling team consulted the owners, who agreed to sell the apartment for $1.22 million.
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 sometimes come to her after months of searching, feeling frustrated by the process.
For Jug, working with Jane meant having support beyond finding a property. She helped him explore his options, consider what was realistic within his budget, and assess properties that might suit his needs.
When he found an apartment he wanted to pursue, Jane helped him navigate the next steps, from submitting pre-auction offers to preparing for different auction scenarios.
Her support also extended to negotiations. When the selling team wanted a higher price, Jane helped Jug consider his options and represented him in the discussion, while he remained in control of what he was comfortable offering.
More broadly, Aussie's Buyer's Agent services can include property search support, property assessments, negotiation, auction assistance and settlement support, depending on the service selected.
Buyers should confirm what's included, and the fees involved before engaging with an agent. 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.
