Okay, I have to say I have been stumpt by the recent behavior of buyers and their retreat from the housing market. Am I surprised, no.

With media headlines continuing to feed on the fear factor, buyers have all but vanished from sight. Even the best looking properties with the most to offer are sitting off to the side without so much as a peek from lookie-lous. What is the concern? That the market will continue to plummet and any money invested would be sucked into this vortex known as forclosure? It is downright criminal how selected cases of misfortune have become the mainstream in the minds of so many potential buyers. The mortgage industry is not the big bad wolf waiting around the bend to pounce. Speciality products are not evil, just misused.

So at a time of year when there are plenty of good deals to be had, despite current market conditions, I find many of my potential buyers shutting their doors on opportunity. There are properties right now that even just a couple of months ago, were $20-30K more. But come spring time, sellers will have renewed hope and unless they are hard-pressed, will keep pricing even-keeled. If that wasn't incentive enough mortgage rates on a 30 year fixed are the lowest they have been since early May. Real Estate 101, you make your money on the BUY, not the sale of a home. If you spend $30K less than a neighbor for a similiar property and sell 4 years from now at the same time you'll roughly get the same price. However, very savvy Buyer B who chose to answer the call of opportunity, paid less in the begining, thus, net more in profit. Great deals in real estate RARELY come along when the market is healthy ( I am not talking about the feeding frenzy when people were buying on speculation). Which only goes to demonstrate that the average buyer will not reap wealth in real estate if they are not willing to step out. Even Donald Trump was quoted recently how the time is NOW for great deals in real estate.

"I'd rather wait til the market bottom's out". Listen buyers, if it did, you wouldn't recognize it anyway and unless you plan on buying today and selling tomorrow every buyer can afford to wait out the market for better conditions before selling again. Most importantly, most buyers purchase for a home to live in and grow, not trade them like stock. Chicago is still very stable with employment, which by the way,unemployment is the LEADING cause of forclosures. If you think that by waiting until the market seems safer to buy, opportunity has passed you by. In fact, its doing a dance in your face right now!