1. Big Discount – Home buyers want a big discount from list price. If the market value of a home is $400,000 and you price it at $375,000 to sell it quickly, buyers still want a large discount from list price.
2. Sellers Pain – If the home seller does not appear to be in pain many buyers won’t feel like they are getting a good enough deal. Even, if they are getting a heck of a price for the home.
3. Foreclosures – Buyers tend to think that all foreclosures are a sweet deal. That is not always the case.
4. Short Sales – Many banks still stink at getting a short sale approved quickly. A friend of mine recently had a short sale close and said the bank had 17 different people touch the file. No wonder the banks are in trouble.
5. Bad News – Sellers are quick to ignore the bad real estate news but very quick to latch on to the good news.
6. Good News – Buyers are quick to ignore the good real estate news but very quick to latch on to the bad news.
7. Time to spare – Many home buyers feel like they have all of the time in the world.
8. Lost opportunity – Recently, one of my listings went under contract. I had three Realtors contact me to let me know that their buyer was about to put in an offer. All three buyers had ample time to put in an offer. People want what they cannot have.
9. Wholesale – I get contacted several times a week by people who want to buy property at a wholesale price. Finding buyers for a property selling at wholesale is not difficult. Finding a property selling at wholesale is another story.
10. Acceptance – More and more sellers have accepted the fact that their property is worth less than what it was worth two and three years ago.
11. Crazy sales – The real estate news is bad, there are lots of foreclosures, the buyers are skiddish and home prices are dropping but every now and then a home sells for way more than it should.
12. Oversupply? – I have a list of buyers wanting to buy homes in Sarasota, Florida. Yet, with all of the properties out there for sale I have a hard time finding them a viable property. When you discard the junk and overpriced properties there isn’t as much to choose from as everyone thinks.
13. Exit – We have been in a declining real estate market for four years now. Fewer Realtors got out of the business than I expected.
14. Money Can Be Made – Realtors can make money when the market is declining. People still want to own homes. Those people are just harder to find today than three years ago.
15. Wisdom – Times are tough. Not too many people can deny that. When the country pulls out of this mess we will all be a little wiser from it. The next time you see back to back years of 25%+ increases in home prices start selling your real estate.
Marc Rasmussen | Michael Saunders & Company | 1801 Main Street | Sarasota, FL 34236 | MarcRasmussen@michaelsaunders.com |
Great observations! In my neck of the woods, buyers and sellers still have a huge gap in price expectations, even with foreclosures. I am seeing more popularity of second homes bought with investment money (from here in Scottsdale AZ).
February 26th, 2009 at 8:09 am
I have noticed of the same shifts in the Denver real estate market as well!
February 26th, 2009 at 12:23 pm
Those are truly pearls of wisdom in this business. Unfortunately by the time most people figure out that these things are true, they will have missed the bottom!
March 27th, 2009 at 11:43 am
Sellers don’t care about the bad news and look to blame somebody. They believe that because someone down the street sold there home, that their home should sell. What they don’t realize is that the home sold for market value, and not above market like what they are asking for.
June 1st, 2009 at 8:49 am