Perfect Timing

There are a lot of potential buyers out there, sitting on the sidelines, waiting for the RIGHT TIME, the "perfect time", to buy.

But one person's perfect is another's missed opportunity.

If you want the most inventory to choose from because your requirements are very, very specific, your perfect time was fall of 2007 if you were buying in Culpeper. But if you were in Fauquier County you'd have waited too long by then. Inventory there peaked in May of 2007. Inventory has continued to decline since then.

If you wanted the lowest interest rates odds are this is your magic moment.

If you want the lowest prices and don't care as much about the inventory or the interest rates, anytime in the next year will probably work just fine.

But, if, like most people, you want it all, it's a little tougher to figure out.

I suspect your best combination of all three was probably mid year 2008. Inventory remained high enough that there was a great selection. Interest rates had gotten much lower, but even at the lower end of the market there wasn't yet a huge upsurge in buyers yet.

I believe a lot of buyers are waiting for the "right time" without defining what that means for them in their situation. The answer can be different for different families in different situations.

What's your perfect combination?

RE: Perfect Timing

There are a ton of buyers out there "waiting", as the Broker of my company I hear it everyday!  Buyers are worried about what the news media is putting out there, and the overall reports on housing.  But as our economy turns positive, which has already begun, more buyers will feel more confident in their decision to OWN A HOME and not rent.  When this happens, we WILL and I repeat, we WILL have a housing shortage.

Why do I say this???????

I recently polled our Agents - in our company, we have about 600 buyers either in the buying process or "waiting" for the exact moment to jump.  If you are reading this, I would suspect you are considering buying or selling a home.  Here is the real issue, at our company (and we are just an example of the overall market), at the time of the survey, we had 451 active listings.

You do the math - 600 buyers - 451 homes for them to buy.

Yes, selection is good now, but it is declining.  When the positive news flows, and those buyer decided that NOW is the time, inventory will immediatly fall to nothing.

ONE MORE ITEM-----

Yesterday, we had the report released on Housing Starts - smallest number since the survey began, at about 500,000 annualized homes.  We have NOT been below 1,000,000 homes a year since the end of World War II!!!  We have homes in our country that burn down, or otherwise become uninhabitable every year.  I would expect the 500,000 number does not keep our current housing supply up.  In other words, the stock of homes in our nation is likely going down. 

The real estate sector is the bulls eye of our national economic crisis.  The Government is aiming their bazooka in this direction.  Real Estate must and will recover, or our nation, as we know it, will.....  well let's not go there.  Housing affordabilty is at an all time high, the only ingredent now needed is for the public to know that real estate is safe.  When this happens, and it will occur overnight - all those buyers on the fence, jump, and at that moment, there will be, once again, NO selection of homes.  Your agent will be saying "Yes, if you bought last month, there were a number of homes to pick from, but today, here are the only 3 that even come close to your price range that meet your needs.  And you need to act quick, because there are other buyers considering making there offer right now."  

I have lived this market before.  But if you miss this opportunity, don't freat, this kind of a real estate market comes about every 20 years or so.  I remember when the prices in the late 80's fell back, creating a similar opportunity we have today.  I also remember the huge number of dissappointed buyers who missed the opportunity.