Saturday, October 08, 2005
More Hissing Sound: What Can I Do To Put You In This House Today?
by Tom Bozzo
Actual copy from a real estate agent's ad in our alternative weekly:
What makes a real estate market a "buyer's market?" Buyers may shy away from pursuing home purchases due to one or more of the following reasons:I'd think you could get thrown out of the club for saying that.
THE GOOD NEWS IS: NOW IS THE TIME TO REVISIT THOSE HOMES STILL ON THE MARKET TO SEE IF THE SELLERS WILL ENTERTAIN YOUR NOT-FULL-PRICE OFFERS! MY SELLERS HAVE GIVEN ME PERMISSION TO SAY "WE WILL LOOK AT ALL OFFERS!" [emphasis in original]
- Lots of inventory in almost every neighborhood=too many options for buyers
- Properties lingering on the market; slow winter season approaching
- Uncertainty (even anxiety) about the economy; price of gasoline and heating fuels
- Natural Disasters
- Etc., etc., etc...
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And I doubt it will move a single buyer to take another look at those homes. But it does portend of a gloomy outlook for owners who are sitting with For Sale signs in their front yards.
[Have I mentioned how lucky I feel now that I had that monster in my yard for only 6 weeks?]
[And did I note that I am NEVER going to willingly and enthusiastically run in the direction of home ownership again?]
[Yes, Tom, NEVER is a long time.]
[Have I mentioned how lucky I feel now that I had that monster in my yard for only 6 weeks?]
[And did I note that I am NEVER going to willingly and enthusiastically run in the direction of home ownership again?]
[Yes, Tom, NEVER is a long time.]
Don't be such a pessimist, Nina. Never should be: "until it costs only as much to buy as it does to rent."
Sellers almost always are willing to "look at all offers." (The only exception from my search was when they had an inexperienced [in real estate] attorney who wouldn't look at a bid below $140K--but didn't bother mentioning that to realtors. So instead of selling to us (who bid less but would have gone more), the house went into foreclosure--with the same agent on BOTH sides of the transaction.)
Is it a sign of a slowdown that people accept "below the offer" offers? We bought in 1997 (took the entire year, so I'm not certain when the bid was), and only ended up with the house we did when they lowered the offer. But that was a hot market, not a scalding, bubbly one.
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Sellers almost always are willing to "look at all offers." (The only exception from my search was when they had an inexperienced [in real estate] attorney who wouldn't look at a bid below $140K--but didn't bother mentioning that to realtors. So instead of selling to us (who bid less but would have gone more), the house went into foreclosure--with the same agent on BOTH sides of the transaction.)
Is it a sign of a slowdown that people accept "below the offer" offers? We bought in 1997 (took the entire year, so I'm not certain when the bid was), and only ended up with the house we did when they lowered the offer. But that was a hot market, not a scalding, bubbly one.
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