Should you sell before you buy your next home?

1 July 2026 - 4 min read

Choosing to prioritise buying a house before selling your existing property is one of the biggest decisions homeowners face when relocating. The question of whether to buy or sell first depends heavily on your financial situation, market conditions, and your personal objectives.

Some buyers are eager to secure their dream home before it slips away, while others prefer the certainty of completing the sale of their current house first and having a clear idea of their budget for their next property. Each approach comes with its own risks and opportunities. Planning ahead and understanding both sides can help you make an informed decision.

Key takeaways 

• Selling your current home before buying a new one can offer more certainty and less stress, but it may be tricky in fast-moving markets, and you may need temporary accommodation. 
• Buying a house before selling can help you secure your dream home but requires careful financial planning. 
• A big risk can be managing two mortgages or ongoing costs if your existing property doesn’t sell quickly. 

When might buying a house before selling make smart sense?

There are a few situations when buying a new house before selling your existing one could be beneficial: 

Property market conditions 

The state of the market can heavily influence your decision. In a seller’s market, where property prices are strong and demand is high, you might be confident your current home will sell quickly. At the same time, if you find the right property and don’t want to miss out, purchasing first can secure your next home. 

Your financial position 

Your financial situation plays a major role in deciding whether to pursue buying a house before selling. Can you afford two mortgage payments if your current property doesn’t sell straight away? Do you have enough available funds to cover stamp duty, closing costs, and the purchase price of your new property?

It may also suit buyers with strong cash flow, high borrowing power, or access to additional financing options, such as bridging finance or equity in their existing home. If your home sells quickly and market demand is strong, this strategy can work smoothly.

Your current property is a hot property 

If your existing home is in a desirable location or priced well relative to property values, you may feel more comfortable buying before selling. Higher likelihood of a successful sale could reduce the risk of holding two properties.

Potential benefits of buying before selling 

Get the dream home you want upfront

Dream homes come around rarely, so if yours is on the market, it’s understandable you won’t want to delay. Buying first means you can secure the home you want without having to wait before another one comes onto the market. 

Renovate before you move in

Having access to your next property means you have the time and space to start any work, renovations or even odd jobs before you move in. Because once you and your furniture are in the new house, you may not get around to painting or recarpeting! 

Avoid moving twice

A gap between selling and buying means you’ll likely have to move into a rental property or temporary accommodation while you search for a new property. Buying first avoids the hassle and cost of doing this and essentially moving twice (in what could be a short amount of time). 

A lower price in a rising market

In a market with rising house prices, the earlier you buy, the more you may get for your money. In this kind of buoyant market, you may then also make more from your house sale later on.

Risks of buying before selling

Buying a home before selling your current one can be a riskier strategy and can cause financial stress.

Meeting settlement commitments

If you need to borrow 80% or more of the security value of the property you’re buying, you’ll need a 5–10% cash deposit for your new property purchase. Since you haven’t sold your existing property yet, you’ll need to have this amount as savings.

Two sets of home loan repayments

Servicing two mortgages, or managing your existing home loan and a bridging loan, can be a big financial pressure. Make sure you do your calculations upfront to make sure you could manage increased costs.

Selling your current home for less

With two properties and the intention to only keep one, the pressure is on for you to make sure your first home sells in good time. This could mean accepting a lower sale price than you intended. 

Useful strategies when buying your new home first

Delayed settlement

Negotiating an extended settlement period on the new home you’re buying can give you more time to sell your current home before finalising your new property purchase. In some cases, simultaneous settlement may even be possible. 

Contingency clauses

It’s fairly common to choose to buy a property first, but make the sale subject to selling your existing property. This means you are making an offer, with the condition that you will only go through with the purchase if your current property is sold within a set time frame.

For some people, this is the ideal solution as it means you don’t have to pay for two mortgages at once. However, it’s worth noting that having this condition may make your offer less appealing to the seller than others, and it can add some stress around selling your property in time.

Bridging finance

A bridging loan can help if you’ve bought a new home before you’ve sold your old one. Instead of paying two mortgages, one for each property, you’ll just continue paying your current home loan with your bridging loan added to the balance. It’s a short-term solution to help you manage until your old home is sold.

When you sell your house, you’ll pay off the bridging loan and the interest on the loan that’s accumulated. As a bridging loan is likely to be on a variable interest rate, you could be paying higher interest costs than a fixed rate. A bridging loan may also command additional fees and charges.

Learn more about how a bridging loan works.

Securing preapproval and understanding your borrowing power

Securing loan preapproval ensures you understand your borrowing power and can act quickly when the right property becomes available. This could help you avoid overextending yourself when managing two properties.

Loan portability

Portability is a home loan feature that allows you to keep your home loan when selling by changing the property that secures the mortgage from your current property to a new one. 

Sometimes called a substitution of security, it means you can avoid refinancing and opening a new home loan. However, break costs and fees may apply. If you require an increase to the loan, this must be done either before, or after the application has been finalised. 

Learn more about loan portability.

Tools and calculators

Westpac has a range of tools and calculators designed to help guide you through home loans. These include the: 

• Affordability calculator 
• Borrowing power calculator 
• Home loan repayment calculator 
• Home equity calculator 
• Costs and stamp duty calculator 
• Offset calculator 

Offset and redraw accounts

Offset and redraw accounts can help manage cash flow and reduce interest on your home loan while juggling multiple properties. 

An offset account is an account linked to your home loan. Instead of earning interest like a normal savings account, the money in your offset is used to reduce the interest payable on your home loan balance. A redraw facility allows you to access extra repayments you’ve made on your loan principal. 

To sum up 

There’s no perfect way to manage selling your home and buying another, but whichever path you take, planning and understanding your personal and financial circumstances are key to a successful sale and purchase. 

Options such as contingency clauses, a longer settlement period, bridging finance, and understanding your purchasing power may help mitigate some of the risks of buying first. 

Selling first can offer greater certainty around your budget, though may mean seeking temporary living arrangements while you search for your next home. It all comes down to the market conditions, your financial situation, and personal priorities. 

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