There could be more buyers looking for and ready to buy homes than there are homes on the market – if this is your worst nightmare when buying a home, then you are not ready to buy in a seller's market. Fortunately, you can easily overcome this lack of preparation if you don't forget to do the following things:

Make the Purchase Your Number One Priority

If you want to hunt for a house "when you have the time," then don't do it in a seller's market. In a seller's market, you need to make the house-hunt your number one priority because there will few listings and fewer listings that meet your requirements. What is more, they will be flowing off the shelf faster than hot cake. Therefore, create some time and give it your all if you want to increase your odds of landing the house of your dreams.

Don't forget that Talk is Cheap, Documentation Rules

This is not the time to brag about your fat bank account or vision for the home; those things aren't likely to impress the seller. The seller wants to know that you want the house and can afford to buy it, and the best way to do this is to provide the documentation that shows you are ready to buy the home. In short, show your letter of mortgage preapproval to the buyer and you are halfway through winning the battle (remember you are most likely competing against other buyers).

Get Rid of Fourth Tier Contingencies             

It is both useful and customary to include contingencies when submitting a home purchase contract. If you are buying in a seller's market, get rid of the customary ones and only include the really useful ones. The best way to do this is to prioritize your contingencies and get rid of the ones lower on your list. You don't want the seller to toss out your purchase offer because it is filled with a thousand and one contingencies. Sellers don't like such long list of contingencies; they think such transactions rarely succeed.

Look Beyond the Money When Making the Offer

Lastly, don't just rely on a sizable purchase offer when buying in a seller's market. Sure, the seller's main motivation may be to make money on the sale, but they also want to be sure that your offer is genuine and their deal with you isn't likely to fall through. Therefore, in addition to going easy on the contingencies, you can also offer to foot the closing costs, accept the seller's contingencies (assuming they are reasonable), make a sizable earnest money deposit and generally sweeten your deal.