Is the time to buy now?

This article is a little long but gives buyers something to think about. Is the bottom near, here or still to come?


Residential real estate prices are falling, and the selection of homes
to choose from has never been better. There seem to be good deals out
there, so should you buy now or wait for the market to get even better?
In other words, when is the best time to buy real estate?

Does this question sound familiar? Not only is this question verbalized
hundreds of times a day, but I believe it is on the mind of every
potential buyer in our market.

It's a good question, one that I would like the answer to if I were
buying. So, I decided to find out what other people were thinking. I was
operating under the premise that if I asked enough people, a common
answer would lead me to the truth.

My unscientific survey consisted of me asking dozens of buyers, sellers
and real estate agents when they thought was the best time to buy. I was
surprised to learn that there were about as many opinions as there were
people willing to give it. However, it wasn't surprising that buyers and
sellers opinions seemed to be 180 degrees apart. Most Realtors' opinions
mirrored that of the sellers.

The general consensus from the buyers is that the best time to buy is
sometime in the future. They gave answers such as "when the property tax
law changes are finalized," "later this fall when sellers are more
desperate," "after hurricane season," "after the elections" or "when the
market hits bottom."

Not all buyers felt it was beneficial to wait. Some were actively in the
market in hopes of striking a killer deal, but they were in the
minority. Some had already bought and were glad they did.

Is the buyer's propensity to wait being driven by common sense or common
greed? Is it possible that buyers are behaving like sellers did back in
the seller's market? When sellers were in control of the market, buyers
were willing to pay almost any price, but for many sellers, it wasn't
enough. So the buyers paid more than the asking price.
A strange sense of irony exists because today's sellers are still
unhappy with the buyers' offers, because these offers are not enough
either. They are well short of asking price. Turn about may be fair
play, but buyers beware. Greed doomed many sellers because they held out
for more. Don't get caught holding out for less.

The sellers and most Realtors I talked to were more focused on the
present. They stated that "today is the best time to buy." They defended
their position by stating that prices are way down from their peak (some
even felt they had bottomed) and interest rates are still attractive.
The Baby Boomers are coming, so get while the getting is good.

Is this advice self-serving or a warning to take advantage while you
can? It may be both. Unfortunately, too many buyers will ignore the
prudent advice of a reputable salesperson when they say "this is a great
deal" or "this is the developer's bottom-line price."

In many cases the salesperson will be right, and he or she has the best
interest of the buyer in mind. The challenge for the buyer is to sort
out advice that is good for them versus advice that is good for the
salesperson.

Now you have heard when it's the best time to buy from the buyer, seller
and agent perspective. But is there a better answer, one that does not
matter which side of the real estate fence you are on?

Try this. The best time to buy is when sellers' fear that tomorrow will
be worse than today. Real estate agents should memorize this answer
because it is not self-serving and its 100 percent true.

When fear motivates, sellers will entertain offers, conditions and
contingencies that they wouldn't under normal circumstances.

This "fear of tomorrow" is a buyer's friend. As long as they have that
ally, they have bargaining power. When hope and optimism begins to
replace fear, sellers will dig their heels in and will become less
negotiable. This change in attitude will take place before the market
bottoms, so if you happen to be waiting for that mythical day, you may
have waited too long to strike your best deal.

Buyers, you find yourself in an envious position because the window of
opportunity to get a great buy exists today.
When will the window close? I don't know. Will it exist tomorrow?
Probably, but the question you will have to ask yourself is whether
you'd rather buy one day too early or one tomorrow too late?