Is Now The Time To Buy???

The question I am asked the most as a Realtor is, “How’s the Market?”  For those who care to hear my opinion, I will give it a shot.  

If you are a seller…  Don’t waste your time UNLESS you are planning to price it to sell.  You have to let go of the idea that you are going to sell for more than your neighbor sold for 6 months ago.  If your Realtor is not telling you to price it right from the very beginning then you may need to question if they are doing what you hired them to do,  Advise you.

If you are a buyer… its a great time.   You ask:

What if I buy and the prices go down again.  The truth is that it could.  You could buy today and tomorrow your neighbor gets sells for $10K less than you just bought for.  You are already upside down.  That stinks.  But lets put this in to perspective.  Are you going to sell the house next week?  If you are, then yes…  you made a big mistake.  However, if you are going to stick around for 5 or more years then you will most likely be alright. 

The problem in this market is not the lack of buyers.  The problem is that buyers are riding the fence and are afraid of pulling the trigger.  Why???  Because we like to think that we are going to time the market perfectly.  We sit on the edge watching stocks thinking… as soon as it hits the bottom I am going to get in.   Sounds smart doesn’t it?  Well, I will quote what the second richest man in the world says…

“We simply attempt to be fearful when others are greedy and to be greedy only when others are fearful.”  Warren Buffett

So, if you are preparing to buy and educating yourself then I applaud you.  If you think you are going to jump in at the perfect time and strike it rich then I would love to learn your secret.  I promise, once the Washington Post tells you that it is the time to buy and everyone is excited again then you have already missed “the bottom.”  So, wisdom and education: good.   Following your gut like a rookie day-trader:  good luck.  

By the way… prices are really low right now.  AND- Interest rates are a 2.5 year low.

I am not trying to play the Realtor card to fool you in to buying when you are not ready.  However, I do want to encourage you to think more long term about buying and realize what a great opportunity is taking place in our market.