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Are your buyers skittish?

By Ricki Eichler McCallum

Real Estate Broker/Owner with CastNet Realty TREC#263257

June 30, 2008 09:58 AM

My buyers are skittish these days. I have had several buyers lately that seem to be overly skittish. When sellers want to negotiate or anything at all goes the least bit wrong, the buyers seem to get very nervous. The old "Buyers Remorse" seems to be appearing much sooner recently than in recent months.

Just wondering if the rest of you are seeing this trend as well?

Is it the price of gas? the increase of all goods? the economy in general? What do you think? We do live in uncertain times but housing is something we will always need and the prices are low and the rates are low. Isn't this a great time to buy?

Our area is still selling strong but this is a trend I have just started seeing. Thought I would ask you if this is happening in your area. Thanks for your input.

Ricki Eichler, your Texas Hill Country connection www.RickiEichlerRealEstate.com

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Dale Baker

Baker Energy Audits and Commercial Properties Inspections - Claremont, NH

New Hampshire Relocation Real Estate Information

Howdy Ricki

I did put one too many 0 in it. Must have goten 0 happy.

I have also had folk's tell me they have used up to 400 gallons a mouth.

There ain't no natural gas here. Some folk's also heat their home with electric. The electric Co's have summe and winter rates, with the winter being the higher of the two. Then there are folk's that use propane gas to heat with.

Some folk's are also using wood pellet and corn furnaces for heating.

God Bless The U.S.A.

Jun 30, 2008 01:51 PM

Ricki Eichler McCallum

CastNet Realty - Corpus Christi, TX

Broker,GRI,ABR, e-Pro, TAHS

Wow, 400 gallons a month is a lot at $4.75 a gallon. I feel for them. I''ll be expecting to sell some folks from up north homes this winter if they can get here. Have a good one, Dale. :)

Jun 30, 2008 01:55 PM

Carl Winters

Canyon Lake, TX

Ricki - Ceil said to tell you she ran into someone the other day at a garage sale that was going to sell his house in Kerrville and move to Canyon Lake; his wife passed and he has a new lady friend up here. She gave him your name and phone number; hope he called. This was about three weeks ago and she is just now telling me.

Jun 30, 2008 02:05 PM

Shirley Parks

Sands Realty 210-414-0966 - San Antonio, TX

Broker, 210-414-0966, San Antonio TX Real Estate

Ricki, maybe my "unsolved mysteries" buyers are just skittish. Come to think of it, the husband commented a couple of times that he didn't want to have buyer's remorse.

Jun 30, 2008 02:23 PM

Steve Shatsky

Dallas, TX

Hi Ricki... Buyers are DEFINITELY skittish these days. I have had and seen several deals fall apart for no good reason other than nerves and jitters. One of my colleagues told me today that a buyer who backed out of a new home contract on him and the builder in January just did an encore performance on a second home yesterday. I suspect that unless they have to, nobody wants to buy until they have a sign that the market totally bottoms out and unfortunately the sign has not been specific enough so far for most buyers.

Jun 30, 2008 02:38 PM

Marchel Peterson

Results Realty - Spring, TX

Spring TX Real Estate E-Pro

Ricki, I have been seeing the same thing also. I have even had a couple that have busted for a reason I'm not sure of.

Jun 30, 2008 02:45 PM

Ricki Eichler McCallum

CastNet Realty - Corpus Christi, TX

Broker,GRI,ABR, e-Pro, TAHS

Thanks Carl, I appreciate y'all. He has not called but maybe he will soon. Have a great week! :)

Hi Shirley, It can happen. I just had another one today. Will try to get them back but their neighbors are talking to them and you know how that can be.

Hi Steve, I can't believe this has happened twice in two weeks to me.

Hi Marchel, Hope this stops quickly. I've got to spend more time on listings and less on buyers I think. :)

Jul 01, 2008 04:43 AM

Trey Thurmond

BCR Realtors - College Station, TX

College Station , Texas Homes

Yep! I am a feelin it a little. I called a buyer today to tell them a counter offer and it was if they were glad the sellers didn't accept their initial offer. Deals off.

Oh well, there are another thousand deals out there just waitin for us.

Jul 01, 2008 03:17 PM

Ricki Eichler McCallum

CastNet Realty - Corpus Christi, TX

Broker,GRI,ABR, e-Pro, TAHS

Hi Trey, Same thing for me. We'll just have to go get some other ones. There are lots of other ones thankfully.

Jul 03, 2008 11:35 AM

Sondra Meyer:

EXP Realty, LLC - Corpus Christi, TX

See It. Experience It. Live It.

Hi Ricki, my buyer's have been dealing with sellers that seem to think this is the time for them to get a premiium price for their home when recent sales and their house do not support a premium price. I had that happen twice this week. Good luck on getting your buyers more "comfortable." It is a great time to buy.

Jul 04, 2008 05:00 PM

Ricki Eichler McCallum

CastNet Realty - Corpus Christi, TX

Broker,GRI,ABR, e-Pro, TAHS

Hi Sondra, These two contracts that went by the way had sellers that hesitated and came back with high counters. That is not the thing to do today if you want to sell your house. Realtors need to prepare their sellers in advance of receiving an offer for this.

Jul 05, 2008 01:25 AM

Steve Homer

The HBH Group (Keller Williams affiliate) - Round Rock, TX

Ricki: UPDATE: Over this holiday weekend, the phone has started ringing. Several new opportunities have popped up by what seems to be serious buyers. Perhaps things are starting to turn up. I had a week like this back in May though and then the next week, things went dead again! Hopefully this is a trend now that is here to stay through the rest of this year!

Jul 07, 2008 12:17 AM

Ricki Eichler McCallum

CastNet Realty - Corpus Christi, TX

Broker,GRI,ABR, e-Pro, TAHS

Hi Steve, Glad it's picking up for you. I've had lots of so called buyers but at the last minute, they back out. They are worried and a little skittish. Hopefully, that consumer confidence will pick up. The lack of it is showing right now and it's a great time to buy!

Jul 07, 2008 02:15 AM

Anonymous

Jim Ford

This is the weakest I've seen the market. Even the mid-70's gas crunch didn't have this effect, nor did the housing bust in the 80's seem to be this weak.

It doesn't matter how good the deals are (or appear to be), the buyers aren't sure that things have bottomed out, so they are trying to get things cheaper in the hopes that they'll still break even, if things get worse.

This is where you have to use more creative thinking and consider other options. A lot of folks associate auctions with "forced sale", but nothing could be further from the truth. However, using this marketing option will bring in buyers to compete against each other. The human nature of "wanting what others want" can put the buyer's immediate thought processes into a different perspective. Yes, there will be those that will drop out early, as they have unrealistic hopes of getting a steal, but it only takes two with the desire that will bring the price into a reasonable offer.

The longer the property sits on the market, the more difficult it becomes to draw interested prospects. The best time to sell is in the first 30-60 days. Of course, most homes aren't meeting that timeline. To present fresh properties to interested buyers at the beginning of the market exposure, provides the highest desirability to bring the best offers.

The seller doesn't have to sit and wait for months. The real estate broker/salesperson can sell more property. And it can be done in a short time-frame, reducing the "holding costs" associated with long market periods, associated with weak markets.

Yes, I am an auctioneer. I also have a real estate license, but the auction market can perform much better than the traditional method, especially at this time, so my real estate license is currently "inactive", as I am pursuing the auction method of marketing. I would encourage all real estate professionals to talk to an auctioneer and learn about this exceptional method of marketing. It can make the difference between slow periods between "pay days" and keeping your business growth on a positive path.

Jim Ford, Texas-National Auctioneers - http://www.t-na.com

Jul 08, 2008 09:57 AM

#33

Dave & Rick Yount

Your San Antonio Mortgage Dream Team! - San Antonio, TX

The medium priced stuff has been really really REALLY slow.. I work with one Realtor who's "farm" is Mountain Springs Ranch in Spring Branch.. he has over 60 listing total (although many pieces of land) but he might as well have zero... he's selling nothing in the $250,000 and up price range. It's rough out there.

About the only activity I'm seeing an increase in are the FHA down payment assistance loans - the market is soft enough (appraisals $10,000 or more higher than sales prices) that you can get a lot of people into homes who don't have the FHA 3% downpayment or closing costs or impounds.

Keep your eyes peeled for Renters that don't realize they can buy or people who would love to buy a home but don't have anything in savings. It's pretty easy to get them into a home and most Realtors aren't presenting it as an option (because they don't know they can). The only drawback is these are typically going to be buyers comfortable with property selling for $150K or less.

Jul 08, 2008 02:22 PM

Anonymous

Thanks Jim, I'll check this out. Thanks for sharing.

Hi Dave & Rick, This is where I'm selling lots of homes. The higher priced ones are not moving. It is a great time for lower income buyers.

Jul 08, 2008 02:38 PM

#35

Sabrina Kelley

ERA Herman Group Real Estate - Woodland Park, CO

Woodland Park Colorado Mountain Homes and Land

I live in the mountains of Colorado near the Pikes Peak region and even though prices are good for this pristine area of the country we are still playing the waiting game and holding out to see more buyers and investors take advantage of the changing market.

Jul 14, 2008 04:34 AM

Ricki Eichler McCallum

CastNet Realty - Corpus Christi, TX

Broker,GRI,ABR, e-Pro, TAHS

Things should be very interesting a month or so from now. Everyone is waiting to see what happens. Hopefully, they won't wait too long.

Jul 14, 2008 12:13 PM

Liz Carter

Liz Carter & Team Realty-Your Real Estate Resource For Life! - Katy, TX

Broker/Owner of Liz Carter & Team Realty, Katy TX (Houston)

Ricki...

Tell them to "Sign the contract please, no need to worry about tomorrow, you might not be here". Gotta put some humor in it and lighten up the moment. Tell them to stop watching the damn news, everybody needs and will always need a home, a place to live, and raise your family, retire, just enjoy your life. We all need our "nest", and always will.

Maybe you need to stop watching the news too :). Just give um a big hug and tell them it will be OK, and oh yea, sign the contact please!

Big Hugs and lots of love, Liz

Hey, maybe we could spend some time with you before or after the Austin thing? Thanks for the comment too.

Jul 14, 2008 06:29 PM

Ricki Eichler McCallum

CastNet Realty - Corpus Christi, TX

Broker,GRI,ABR, e-Pro, TAHS

Good advice Liz, It is so true, you have to live somewhere so why not buy a house? The buyers have a been a little skittish but it's the sellers that I can't figure out. When times are tough, you'd think they would be willing to negotiate a little but not much of that going on here. Prices are hanging strong.

Jul 16, 2008 01:18 PM