Buyers ALL want to avoid paying too much. That is certainly the case these days. However, this cautiousness could be misplaced and the chances of that are increasing with every passing day in the Atlanta home market. Atlanta home owners were bemoaning the lack of double digit appreciation from 2000-2005 while records were being set in other parts of the country. As one of those people, I must admit some jealousy on my part.
Now that we have seen the 2007 and 2008 "adjustment", Atlanta's modest appreciation has minimized our fall and recent numbers are indicating that our decline in pricing is stalling out. THAT is good news for sellers. It should fire a warning shot for buyers though. Pundits abound about when the market will recover and obviously no one can accurately predict when the absolute price bottom will occur. However, buyers should resist the peer pressure to get the "deal of the decade" because that greed will most likely backfire as the figure below illustrates.
A buyer today will have the sellers' full attention and very few competing buyers. I doubt that a semi-interested buyer will know when the bottom has occurred until the momentum has already shifted. My guess is that Listing Agents will be the first to know when the bottom has occurred beause the number of calls will jump on their listings. Buyers who are actively looking at homes will be next because they will notice their choices start to dwindle as homes on their short list go under contract. Word will travel fast.
The opportunity is now! Or at least somewhere between today and 20/20 hindsight. Chances are good that in 3-5 years, the difference between today's price and the absolute bottom will not have been enough to even remember. But I can only speak for Atlanta. Happy Hunting!
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