Buyers Asking, “Should I Buy Now?”

Buyers are asking if they should buy now or wait, whether we are at a bottom in prices or have further to drop.   It’s a logical question, one that investors in the stock market are asking with great fervency lately.

In an earlier article entitled Distinguish the Market and One House I wrote:

When a Sequim or Port Angeles homeowner wants to sell, they have one home to sell.   When a buyer from California or Arizona is shopping for their next home in Sequim or Port Angeles, they have one and only one home that will become theirs.   This is much more than just a play on words, and the implications for both parties is significant.

Each home is unique, unless it is a crackerbox in a Vegas subdivision, and we don’t have those here.   Each buyer is unique.   The seller is unique.   The match of a buyer, seller, and a home is unique.   Do buyers care how many houses are on the market, or what the state of the economy is, or how many DOM (days on market) a house has been listed?   No, except indirectly if it helps them get a better deal.   But even when we talk about a better deal, for each buyer, there is one house they expect to fall in love with and that is the only house they will buy.

For each house that is for sale in any market, including our current market, a seller only needs one buyer who is qualified and finds the home to be the ideal home for them.   For each buyer, they are looking for that home that has the precise features they most desire, in an area they find appealing or perfect, and at a price with terms they can afford.   All of this makes the general market conditions irrelevant.

Will prices of single family homes drop further?   The average price of homes will see a further   small decline, but that is not really the issue for an individual home owner.   The issue for an individual buyer will be, “Will the ideal home I want to buy still be available if I wait, and will the price of that home drop further?”

The best homes in the best areas will not necessarily still be available, because those are the homes that will sell in this market.   And the prices of these homes are stable.   The listing prices of these homes has already been reduced and reduced.   For the qualified buyer with good credit and the funds for a down payment and closing costs, this is most certainly a good time to buy the right home.

Last Updated on October 29, 2008 by Chuck Marunde