Once upon a time,
buyers would look and look until they found a house they loved. Then they'd make an offer on it, and usually we'd negotiate to a contract. That was then.
It's not uncommon today for buyers to look and look, and then say, "OK, after this weekend we're ready to start making offers. This generally means
- they're not fixed on just one house;
- home love isn't the motivating factor;
- their offers are probably going to be low;
- they're probably going to make offers until one of them is accepted.
Are these buyers predatory? Probably not. Most likely they're concerned about what they see in the media, concerned about protecting their equity in an uncertain housing market, and concerned about making a prudent investment. They're willing to spend time waiting for the right accepted offer.
What does this mean for sellers? It means they should think long and hard about whether they want to sell now and proceed with their next goal in life ... or wait. And often waiting means watching the market erode.
Just yesterday I had sellers ask me if a buyer who made an offer six months ago, when their home was new on the market, would still be willing to buy at that price. Sadly, no. They had bought another house in the neighborhood for $100,000 less than they offered on this one.
Sharon - well it's a sign of the times here, too. There is really sense of urgency, and unfortunately some buyers have lost the homes they liked becuase they thought they had time. Even in a slower market new buyers are emerging and homes are disappearing.
Jeff
Hi Sharon, You make some interesting points. Sellers that want to sell should be as aggresive as they need be until the issue is resolved.
Buyers are using market weakness to take advantage of the current supply and demand. As well they should.
What both of them need to understand is that newspaper reteroric or misguided opinion, etc is not empirical evidence and with it as their guide , they are making failed judgement.
Jeff - quite right. There is always greater demand for particular properties.
William - real estate is SO local, even to types of condos within a single building.
"start making offers" ! LOL, yea I've seen it too. We were able to get some first time homebuyers off the fence this month by telling them the down payment assistant programs were going away and they needed to make a decision so their application could be in and approved before Sept 31st.
This is sad. So many people seem to want to find a 'deal' right now. What happened to falling in love with a home?
By the way Sharon, I am happy to join you in the 100,000+ Points Club as of yesterday!!
Missy - knowing that something is going away is indeed a good motivator.
Lisa, congratulations on your 100,000 points! Too many people started looking at houses as investments like stock, rather than as home.