With all of the swirling rumors & headlines, some may be wondering if now is a good time to buy a home. For many, the recent shift has presented a real opportunity for those wanting to make a move.
1) Selection
There are many more choices today than just 3-4 months ago as inventory has quadrupled during this time. Instead of only two search results, you may have a dozen at any given time now.
2) Not a Rushed Decision
With less competition from other buyers and more options in the marketplace, the average days on market has risen. This means you don’t always have to decide in an hour whether you want to submit an offer filled with wild terms. You can feel comfortable knowing the home you offer on is right for you.
3) Ability to Negotiate
For the past couple of years, sellers have pretty much dictated whatever terms they wanted and buyers had to comply in order to buy a home. That has shifted and now we are seeing some back-n-forth negotiations with multiple counters before reaching middle ground. As a buyer, you may be able to get credit for a 1-year home warranty or concessions toward closing costs or buying down your mortgage interest rate.
4) Repairs & Inspections
Rather than everything selling “as-is” without seller repairs, we are seeing buyers be able to ask for legitimate concerns once again. Also, inspection periods aren’t only a few days in most cases… the standard has been a 10-day period, which is once again becoming more frequent, giving time to make decisions. Sellers who want to sell their home can no longer put forward an inferior product and expect it to sell for top dollar.
5) Appraisals Matter
For quite some time, appraisal contingencies were almost always waived or shortfall guarantees were given by the buyers. However, that has changed and now the appraisal contingency is back in effect. If an appraisal comes in low, it becomes a negotiation to figure out how to salvage the sale rather than the buyer being expected to make up any difference all on their own.
6) Contingency Sales are Possible
Those who wanted to make a move in the past couple of years, but were afraid to pull the trigger because they didn’t want to end up homeless now have a chance! You can sell your existing home and buy another contingent upon successful closing of the current. This way you can utilize the equity as a down payment and not throw tens of thousands away by involving an investment company as the middle man, like past market conditions pushed many to do.
If you are contemplating a move, let’s chat to find out if now is the right time for you. It never hurts to be educated on the market and know your options.
Give us a call @ 623-203-2264 to start the conversation.
