Home Buyers deliberately pass up opportunities

Working with Buyers in this market is definitely challenging, therefore I find it paramount to educate clients on the state of the housing market. With the availability of housing choices remaining extremely low and opportunities being hard to come by with little sign of change in the near future is leaving Buyers frustrated and distraut.

It is paramount for Buyers wanting to purchase in this market to understand and be fully educated on the market. The past and current market trends, competition and knowledge of knowing what to expect when entering a purchase agreement situation should be touched on. Using the Santa Clarita housing market as an example, explaining that there are approximately 607 active listings on the market with about 36% of the listings being short sale listings is significant. Why is this important? This means that very few homes are likely meet your desired criteria, few homes will fall within the areas you might desire, and if you find a home that does, it will likely have multiple offers submitted on them. Additionally, a large number of the short sale listings are unable to be purchased within a normal 30-60 day escrow period. Furthermore, this type of market has been around for most of 2009 and signs indicate that this market will be here through 2010.

With that said, is it wise for buyers to intentionally miss an opportunity. Especially one that initially didn’t work out, and then happened to fall back into their lap? This answer will be different for everyone, and it depends on the individual home Buyers perceptions of the market. However, deliberately missing an opportunity after the potential outcomes are clearly explained, is a mistake. To make the situation worse, deciding to agree to the Sellers original terms offered after loosing the home to another Buyer in hopes of saving the deal is an even bigger mistake.

Honestly, if Buyers understand the housing market activity, have lost other housing opportunities, watched home prices increase, and don’t see that things will turn in their favor, then “YES” make a decision to secure that home.