Housing trends tend to go one of two ways. If there is a lot of inventory with low demand, the conditions favor the buyer. If demand is high with a low inventory of homes for sale, the conditions favor the seller. When you find yourself in the latter situation, you need to know some tips for getting into a home to call your own.

Get a Mortgage Pre-Approval

You need to take steps to separate yourself from other buyers that are out there. If a seller needs to pick between two offers they received on their home, they may look into things beyond the offer price being made. For instance, a seller may be more likely to go with a buyer because they have received a pre-approval from a local mortgage lender for the money they need to buy the home. If someone does not have this pre-approval, the seller could waste time by accepting the offer, only to find out later that the buyer doesn't have the ability to purchase the home. It could be worth it to go with someone that made a lower offer, because they know they won't have problems getting the mortgage. 

Consider New Construction

Sometimes the best home out there is one that is not even built yet. Find out about what new construction is happening in your area, and what homes are still available. You may find that there is less interest in these homes because they may only have the architect plans and floor layouts, without an actual home ready to walk through. Thankfully, many of these homes are built in planned communities, so there could be similar homes finished to get an idea of what to expect. With less competition, you won't feel rushed to put in an offer and hope for the best.

Make Accommodations

Try to work with the seller however you can to accommodate them throughout the process. For example, they may need to close on a home quickly because they are moving out of state, so you should be more than willing to work within their timeframe to wrap up the sale. On the flip side, the seller may be looking for a closing date that is farther out than usual, potentially because they are looking to move after the school year wraps because their kids are enrolled. If you can meet their needs, they may select you as a buyer instead of someone else.