Real Estate Home Buying Forecast – Spring 2013

The real estate market is back!

Spring is the busiest season in the Real Estate market and this year it’s shaping up to be hot! We’re getting back to the days of yore – prior to the peak of the market. I think that it’s the lack of inventory that is causing the return of the sale right now and yet I don’t see the return of a speculative bubble. Buyers of today are not in danger of being priced out of the market overnight, which was the case back in 2006 when we were seeing 10%-15% appreciation and people were priced out of the market within 6 months. Those who DID buy, ended up paying more than they should have.

Almost as important as inventory, low financing costs continue to fuel the real estate fire as well. You can’t do too much better than the interest rates that are out there now, and there is no prediction of any drastic increases happening soon.

If buying doesn’t feel like the right move just now, consumers will be hard pressed to find relief in the rental market. Both the rental and the sales markets are rising at the same time, when usually they are diametrically opposed.

But again, back to the current inventory. If you’re in the market to buy a home, be prepared to pull the trigger right away. A home you’ve fallen in love with may be gone next week when you’re still only ready to take a second look. Make sure that if you’re looking, you have the mortgage pre-qualification done. In this market, sellers won’t consider an offer unless the prospective buyer has put their money where their mouth is.

If buying a new place is contingent on selling your old one, it’s the wisest idea to make sure that your home is on the market and is PRICED TO SELL before you consider making an offer! If you need to have the contingency of selling your old home before you can buy, and would like the seller to hang on to the home you have now fallen in love with until you have the money, don’t expect it to happen. Worse, you can expect the seller to continue showing the home and shut you out if a solid offer comes in. Even if the seller IS willing to wait for you to sell, be prepared to offer a higher amount for the home.

If you have a home to sell and there is little happening, you may want to search your soul for a reduction in the list price. The homes that are selling fast are the well-priced homes, and that does not mean cheaply priced. It means competitively priced with comparative homes. After a month of no-sale, it’s time to re-think the selling strategy before the home languishes on the market and becomes stale. In many cases (certainly every one is different) a price adjustment of 5% may nudge your house off the shelf.

Here is the Golden Rule. Setting a list price is a best-guesstimate based on comparative homes sold in comparative neighborhoods. No two homes are exactly alike, so list can never be set in stone. For whatever price adjustments are made, it is important to remember this: You cannot price your home too low. If you do, buyers will break down the door with offers and drive the sale price up. You CAN, however, price your home too high. This will cause buyers to use your home for their own price comparisons only. If the price is just a little over what it should be, discounted offers will come. If it is really too high, buyers will assume that an offer of just a few percent lower will never be entertained and will never come back. We all wish we had a crystal ball….

If you’d like a comparative analysis of your home, please give me a call or a click. Visit my email at http://www.NormaSellsNJHomes.com.

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