Home : Blogs : Laurie Furem : Laurie's Blog

When buyers won't make a move, what do you do?

I came across an article in Innan News by Matt Carter (might only be viewable by subscribers) from last October which really hit home, especially in the Metro Atlanta market where we have a very large standing inventory of homes for sale (10+ months). The gist of the article is based around the growing nationwide rise of housing inventory and the fact that the Feds have left interest rates alone for quite some time.

With those thoughts in mind, today's Buyer may be thinking that the "best buy" is just around the corner and with fairly stable interest rates, there's not the same sense of urgency as in a more stable housing market.

Carter has a few suggestions on what an agent might do if they find a property that meets the Buyer's needs, is fairly priced and the Buyer "remains on the fence"?

Buying a house (as we all know) is extremely stressful for a Buyer and one of their main concerns is financing. One way to ease their minds and build confidence is to go over the numbers first. Have them speak to a lender to find out just how much house they can comfortably afford (standard operating procedure, right?).

In our initial contact with the potential Buyer, consider doing a Buyer's analysis of their housing needs that can be used as a checklist as the process moves forward. I have found this to be a great tool when a Buyer is waffling just a little. The checklist gives us a clue as to whether the hesitation on making an offer is rational or emotional. We all know that the Buyer knows "the right house when they see it" right?

The article goes on to talk about educating our Buyer clients/customers that "homes tend to be good investments and the only way many Americans ever save any money."

The article also touches on the "renters" market and indicates that it is rapidly shrinking. When we educate Buyers as to how much they can "save" by owning a home, it opens up that whole target market. The question is, at least for me, how to reach that transient market.

There are 3 parts to the total article and IMO, worth a look-see

As always, comments and questions are welcomed.

Posted by Laurie Furem on 02/19/2007 09:55 AM

Comments (12)

buyers market, atlanta, metro atlanta, inman news, financing, investments, home buying

Post is included in group: RealTown Blogs

12 Comments on When buyers won't make a move, what do you do?

FEB

2007

Renters are just buyers who haven't climbed over that fence yet, even though they want to. They, like everyone else, are searching the internet for that dream. Look at the huge inventory of tire kickers on r.com. They are out there wandering around the web.

Put your website up front and center with a lot of content geared towards renters and their perceived fears. You know what you would say to them in person. Just put it in writing. They will find it.

Laurie-

Thanks for the heads up regarding that article. I'll have to take a look.

The article, I'm sure, is worthy of a look, but not at $150. LOL

For free, here's an article in USA Today that might explain why buyers are becoming more and more cautious.

http://www.usatoday.com/money/economy/housing/2007-02-12-close-atlanta_x.htm

Inventory, by any measure, is at crisis level. Add in widespread mortgage fraud and any sensible buyer would be better served waiting until this mess gets sorted out. With these fundamentals, prices have no place to go but down. Once lower comps are used, the market will reset to that pricing level. Then, with so much inventory on hand, prices have to drop to move it.....lowering comps once again.

Sometimes, the sidelines is the place to be......

JMHO

I wish arm twisting worked like the buyers think it does!!!!!!!

I feel like car service sometimes.

My rule is 5 houses... That's it!

Sidelines is a bad spot in NC right now. I have a couple of folks who areon the fence and they keep telling me, Well, that house wasn't meant to be," as the properties continue to sell. Property values are going up here. Properties are disappearing. I don't want to feel like I am "pushing" anyone but waiting just lets the good ones get away.

The net provides a lot of information. The fence sitters use it to sit. The doer's use it to buy. Sometimes too much information keeps people from making the right decision.

Paralysis by analysis. Good points.

It seems like there is conflicting information from different sources also, sometimes it's difficult to know who to believe.

If the potential buyer won't make a move sometime it is just not the right time; so I continue to send then information, I also have them train to driveby the properties, this will narrow the list of properties to look at so less time is spent driving around.

I wrote some about this in my blog Analysis Paralysis

I had a client referred to me that spent some time explaining his position. He had two houses he was looking at in two decidedly different areas of town. Finally he told me that he believed the market would dip another 2-3% and he would wait so he didn't lose value...

I said ok... but to keep in mind that while he might worry about that money, eventually the market woudl recover but would he? Besides the personal problems not buying would cause...Would he be able to get the same value of house when rates start going UP. His loss of $10-20K vs 1/2-3/4% on the rate was an opportunity cost he could not understand. Buyers are waiting for something to break loose but they're not focussing on the long term factors of buying a home. When rates are higher, payments are higher and the overall cost of financing the house grows rapidly!

If there is a great choice today... buyers need to know that it may not be there tomorrow... it may cost more tomorrow... and costing more plus a higher rate will ultimately cost quite a bit more. Everything over what they would pay today and now is the NEGATIVE opportunity cost.

I would just encourage them to put in an offer if they saw a property that fit their needs.

FEB

2007

Any home transaction whether it is a buy or a sale needs a lot of comforting and guidance. Moving is one of the most stressful events in a person's life. I try to often provide and educate my clients as much as possible. My job is to keep up great communication and make a home sale/purchase as stressless as it can be.

Leave a response…

Name:

Email:
(optional)

Comment:

What does the graphic say?