Every house hunt starts with a dream, one that can easily escalate into pure fantasy. Homebuyers, particularly first-timers, often harbor visions of purchasing the perfect house, in a great neighborhood, for a bargain price.
All that might have been achievable—with some luck—in the past. But in today’s hot seller’s market, once buyers move beyond mooning over listings to making an actual offer, things can get jarringly real all too fast.
As a real estate agent, I see this wake-up call regularly. So do my colleagues.
Peter Cantine, a real estate agent in the Catskills where I live, says many of his clients want “a house with seclusion, views, and a water feature,” for a budget of about $300,000.
“In this market, $300,000 will get you a hammock—just the hammock,” he says. “Want a hammock that sleeps two? That’s 400,000!”
Comments(1)