Silver Lining to the Harsh Realty Reality - Just got off the phone with a truly lovely lady. She bought her house in '06, not at the height of our local market, but before it started it's big slide. She has a beautiful, large home in a much sought-after downtown neighborhood walking distance from great restaurants, the symphony, shopping, etc. What's more, this lovely home has a full apartment over the garage. Heaven. But, as you know heaven is a relative thing.
The owners plans have changed a bit. Things happen. The grandkids are on the other side of town. They don't need quite so much home. It makes sense to downsize a bit. But what about that sliding market? What about the money they will lose?
Here's the thing . . . as one of my mentors once said, "The best time to sell is when you need to." Sounds like they need to - for comfort, for convenience, for love of the grandkids.
And here's the other thing . . . the Silver Lining to the Harsh Realty Reality - they'll do FINE. They'll buy for less on their downsize than they would have just a year ago. It will all work out. But we have to get there. And we get there by letting it sink in and then putting one foot in front of the other. And pricing for the market - truly pricing for the market.
Robin: It is so refreshing to get a seller that can understand this truth about the myth of market timing... Most of them seem to think that market timing is something that some people win at and others lose at. My point is that it is a myth - You can't time the real estate markets any more than you can time the stock market. And if you sell in a down market, just make sure you buy in the same down market and you gain losses back when the market surges again.
By the way, I was listening to a economy "expert" on CNBC the other day saying that we are either starting into a recovery or the recovery won't happen for another year or so. Sounds like a junior weather man to me... LOL