A couple of years ago in the midst of an unbelievable sellers market you could not stop buyers from making offers at almost any price. They just had to get in on the action. Available listings were few and far between and there were plenty of new, inexperienced real estate agents who jumped on the bandwagon adding to the frenzy. Banks were almost literally throwing money on the sidewalks and mortgage bankers would put anything they thought would get a deal done on a credit application. Prices were escalating on a weekly basis and buyers were buying like there was no tomorrow, afraid of losing out. I personally should have known that when lawyers started delaying closing dates because they had too many closings , things were out of hand.
Today, in the middle of what is going to be looked back upon as a great buyers market, there are no buyers. Why? In a word FEAR. They are afraid of paying too much. Just like they were afraid of losing out in a sellers market. They should have been afraid of paying too much in that market. Do not get me wrong, I totally understand. It is just so ironic that when people should be buying they are not. There are good deals out there, just waiting for a buyer. The complicating factor is that lots of sellers are holding on to unrealistic prices, but when presented with a reasonable offer, they will negotiate.
The other factor at work is the media. Filled with negative news and uninformed advice, adding to the buyers reluctance. You should do your own research and buy for good reason which brings me to my last point in this analysis.
Many of the buyers over the past couple of years were investors, speculators, builders, mortgage brokers, real estate agents and others basically driven by greed. Those days are gone. Never to return in my opinion. So, where does that leave us? From now on, we are going to have to find buyers who really just want a place at the beach, or want a retirement home, or a second home they can rent to help with the expenses. No more frenzy buying. It is going to be like it was years and years ago. Just steady, normal business not a goldmine for speculators or easy work for lazy real estate agent and mortgage bankers.
Knowing that there are ready, willing and able sellers in the market today, coupled with the fact that there are foreclosures, short sales, make me an offer deals, some owner financing options or just out and out trades, buyers need to get to a comfort level with making an offer. That brings me to a checklist of items that buyers should review, determine if they are going to proceed with an offer and end up owning a place at the beach. Downtown Charleston is also a great place to own property.
Do you have the ability to do the deal? Go ahead and talk with a banker as interest rates are at all time lows. Actually, if you wait for prices to drop and interest rates go up, you could end up paying more than going ahead today.
About the Author:
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333
Date Published :
Feb 26 2009