My dear buyers (and especially my first time buyers),
Where have all the buyers gone? Long time waiting… too many heart breaks, overbids, stress… I get it. The beginning part of the year was pretty intense and along with skyrocketing mortgage rates, instead of readjusting their expectations, a lot of buyers have given up, or “pressed pause”.
Let me tell you the pitfalls of this reasoning:
Reason #1: From Nov- Jan 1, there is less competition.
Reason #2: There are more houses now than earlier this year (and less competition).
Reason #3: Mortgage rates are slated to go up another 1-2 points before the end of the year.
Reason #4: Prices are NOT coming down (despite the “slowing”, we are still 7% higher than last year with no cliff in sight). Mortgage rates WILL eventually come down, once inflation settles, and then you can refinance.
I have buyers from all stages and incomes. Some people saw their downpayment shrink with the stock market, some saw their approved purchase price drop with the interest rate’s rise. Sellers however, are still listing their homes and they are sitting, sometimes for weeks at a time, because they’re over-priced or poorly marketed (or both) and the buyers are just not responding.
I repped the buyers on the house shown above and not only were we the only offer but they also got all the credits and requests for repairs they asked for.
Below are a few listings that are (or should be) under $1mil. They need a little work, but the beauty of a cosmetic fixer is that you have built in equity- and you get to renovate to your own tastes, not accept some flipper’s choices. You all know that I have renovated many homes, and I am happy to advise you on that journey. My recommendation is to get in to a home however you can. Stay for 2 years and then use the equity you’ve built to trade up. If you don’t, you may very well find that you are chasing a market that is moving faster than you can save (and yes, sadly I have those clients too).
If your budget is over $1mil, there are even more to choose from (especially in the $1.5-$3m range). And if your budget is under $1mil, I have a few condos I can show you.
Accept that we all have to start somewhere. Pick the best of the available choices and jump in.
Be well,
Emily