Get off the fence and make the offer on the property that you've been thinking about!
There are always reasons for buyers to be hesitant about committing to buy a house, after all it is one of the biggest financial decisions a person makes. But there are many several reasons why now is the time to see the light and make the offer on the property that they want.
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 homeownership 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 buyers are planning on trading up, you will need to highlight 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 job is to help your buyers narrow the field. This is hands-on, personal consultation time. If their search criteria is yielding dozens, even hundreds, of potential homes, science tells us they are likely to be overwhelmed, shut down or worse, make a poor first good choice kind of decision. You must either presort their choices or sit with them and patiently help 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 getting good. One of the aspect of the "less is more" theme that can help you overcome buyer reluctance is a "Best Buy List". This is a list you have 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. This becomes a great opportunity to continually pull buyers into the home buying process plus it might actually help you stand out from the competition. A Best Buy List actually becomes your unique intellectual property and a powerful magnet for people to work with you. You must find real, honest and compelling ways to help buyers feel optimistic about the market and comfortable with you as their expert guide
A Buyer’s agent will really be your advocate throughout the entire buying process. He/She will help you to make good decisions on the best house for you and to make
