It’s likely someone you love will buy a house this year. Please share this post with them. It could save them tens of thousands.
If 2020 is anything like 2018 and 2019, we’ll see a surge of buyers entering the market while rates remain low and while inventory is tight. Buyers will be lining up to see homes the first day on the market, and sellers will enjoy seeing multiple offers reflecting a handsome rate of appreciation over the last few years.
The danger isn’t in buying this year. I have clients who will buy in 2020, and I’m confident they’ll look back and be happy. I’m personally buying this year, too.
The real danger is in which homes are being purchased.
2020 may end up being another very good year to sell homes with hard-to-escape problems, such as (but definitley not limited to):
- backing to or being on a major road/intersection
- proximity to trains, highway noise, industry, flight paths
- super steep driveways and/or yards
- funky floorplans/additions
- non-conformity with the rest of the neighborhood (size, architecture)
The buyers and sellers of those homes will cheer. Sellers will finally cash out, and buyers will feel as though they just won a home during a hot market. The latter may have just jeopardized their hard-earned money, though. Time will tell.
When a future market loosens up and buyers have plenty of options, which homes will be cut from the must-see list? Yep. The ones with problems that were glossed over years before when the market was hot.
The best way to get those homes sold in a high inventory market will be to slash prices below the competition. To give a deal.
I don’t share this with joy. It’s a reality that I educate clients on constantly. Especially now.
Homebuyers shouldn’t have to live with remorse.
But there’s always hope.
The best houses sell best in every market. Pick one of those. If you’re unsure, please make sure you’re working with a buying agent who can help you spot the difference. There’s no checklist, per se. It’s a discerning and artful eye improved with experience that helps an agent recommend only the best properties.
Sometimes those best properties are hidden behind a veil of less-than-stellar presentation (decor, finishes, paint, dirt, clutter). Sometimes they’re sitting on the wrong shelf in the marketplace (overpriced). A good agent will spot those, too.
There’s no rush. Get it right from the beginning. Holler if you need a hand.
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