Last weekend my wife dragged me to a neighborhood barbecue in Northern Virginia. While I was there minding my own business, I was approached by a group of “real estate investors” as they like to call themselves. We all know this group of people. They’re the bunch who has the need to boast about how many properties they own or how flipping properties is as easy as walking down the street. They also seem to carry this plethora of knowledge about the real estate market that not even a Realtor can get their hands on. As they introduce themselves, I saw a pattern begin to develop. Sure enough, not one of them was in the real estate business.
I found myself daydreaming as I stood there waiting for each of them to finish reeling off their superlatives. Then one chimes in with a question that snapped me out of my daze. The jolly fellow with the Cuban cigar asks me, “I bet business is slow with the market being this bad?” This is a typical question that every Realtor runs into at least once a week. I regroup and simply ask him, “Who said this was a bad market?” The gentleman responds with “My neighbor’s house has been on the market for 6 months now.” So at this point I began to enlighten their noodle boxes. This market that we are experiencing right now is not “bad”. Yes, it may be slow for people who want to sell their home. There is an overkill of inventory available right now. So if you want your home to sell quickly in this market, you need to price it right. If you can’t afford to price your home at a reasonable price, then it better be the next best thing to sliced bread.
As far as buying a home right now, the choices are endless. With sellers having difficulty and builders having so much inventory on their hands, buyers have a better chance of receiving a seller concession or an incentive. Don’t think that sellers won’t budge on their prices. If you didn’t already know, many homeowners have a lot of equity in their homes from the real estate boom a few years ago. Don’t go expecting to buy a home right now and turn around in a year from now and make a ridiculous profit. All I’m saying is if you’re in the market to buy a home, this is your chance to find a great deal!
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