It is a buyer's market, but it won't last forever. If you have been sitting on the fence waiting for the right time to buy, it is time to see the light and make the offer on the property that you want! A buyer's agent will act as your advocate and can help to ensure that you are getting the very best deal. The $8000 first time home buyer credit will be running out in December, giving you enough time to take advantage if you get started looking soon. If you are still unsure here are a few points to consider:
•1. The hazard of timing the market. Buyers who choose to wait until prices come down more are also gambling that interest rates will hold or drop. The impact that the interest rates can have on a monthly cost of home ownership is not widely understood. Even a 10% drop in home prices is immediately nullified by a mere 1% point increase in interest rates on a 30 year mortgage plan.
•2. Trade up- The opportunity of a down market. If you are planning on trading up, you should consider how saving on the larger home purchase will offset any loss of the sale of their current house. Falling home prices are a great opportunity for move up buyers. Even though your home sale price may be lower, the smaller loss at sale can be compensated by greater savings at purchase.
•3. Less is More- Narrowing the field. One of the challenges for buyers in a shift is simply that there are too many choices. Your buyer's agent's job is to help you narrow the field. This is hands-on, personal consultation time. If your search criteria is yielding dozens, even hundreds, of potential homes, science tells us you are likely to be overwhelmed, shut down or worse, make a poor first good choice kind of decision. You must either presort your choices or sit down with your buyers agent and let them sort the stack. The goal is a handful of great choices. The best agents understand the benefits of this step-by-step selection process. they know it helps the customer decide, it speeds up the home search and makes their work with buyers more efficient. They make this their standard practice and in a shift, so you must do the same.
•4. Find a best buy- Get while the get-tings good. One of the aspect of the "less is more" theme is a "Best Buy List". This is a list your buyer's agent has compiled on the current best buys in the market. It will be based on your consistent tracking of new listings, price reductions and pre-foreclosure or foreclosed properties. It will be one of the most useful outcomes of your daily previewing of homes.
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