In an economy that wavers, who can really tell what the real estate market will be like in the future? You have your financial and real estate gurus who are always giving their opinions, but do they really have all of the answers? As an experienced realtor in Upper Marlboro, MD, I always make it a point to tell buyers that you cannot guess the market. There are so many factors that impact the spectrum of the real estate market and can change at any time.
It's important for buyers to not act as psychics, but to act as focused buyers and really concentrate on the obvious and most current indicators of the real estate market. As we presently see, the real estate market has split personalities. Right now, we see the buyer's market personality. It is definitely different from the seller's market personality. Right now, this real estate market is characterized by fewer buyers, larger inventory, and lower home prices. For any buyer, this becomes a buyer's haven to take advantage of the bargains that adorn the real estate landscape.
According to Gary Keller's book the Shift, "A buyer cannot perfectly time a market-no one can. They can look at indicators that will point out the direction in which a market is going and can absolutely mark how far it has fallen or risen, but after that the only way to know a market has bottomed or topped out is after it." So, why then do some buyers continue to look through their crystal balls and make market predictions?
We can safely say that all buyers want a great deal, but the great deal may just be the one that exists in your current market. In a buyer's market, there is certainty that you are getting an excellent deal. It's easy to do a rewind several years back and just see how much homes were selling for. For example, in one zip code area of Upper Marlboro MD, the average sold price of homes was $273,781 in December 2010. However, in December 2011, just a year later, the average sold price for homes was $206,277. It seems like buyers somewhere in this zip code is getting a $90,000 discount on homes for sale in Upper Marlboro, MD. This becomes the deal for ready, willing, and able buyers in that market. In the book the Shift, Gary Keller states, "People who buy in a buyer's market are the smart ones. They're buying in a safe zone and living in the area of certainty." He adds, " They know they can't predict the end of a bust, but they can see when the market has fallen considerably."
Therefore, if a buyer is waiting until 2013 to buy a home, there's no absolute certainty that prices will decline even more. It's a risk that a buyer takes when all economic efforts being taken are to increase property values. If a buyer is waiting because of financial reasons or a need to repair credit, that's fine, but waiting based purely on a good guess, could cause a buyer to miss out on a great deal. In his book the shift, Gary Keller states, "With so many homes for sale, too many potential buyers buy into the biggest myth of a shift- they think that they can time the market. Believing in this myth results in a false sense that the buyer has all the time in the world." Thus, it is in the buyer's interest to master the role of a savvy buyer versus the savvy buyer turned psychic. Master the market where it is and make it work for you and strongly rely on the expertise of your chosen real estate agent!
To learn more about how i can help you buy, sell, or rent a property in MD and DC, contact me directly for your free consultation. Go to my website www.uppermarlboromdrealtor.com and search for information and sign up to receive a free home evaluation and a neighborhood sales and analysis report. Thanks from Timothy Johnson
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