Ever watch a movie that you are really enjoying and then suddenly it turns mean on you? Well I’d say a few owners currently on the market could relate to that opener.
Now I know that when you call in a few agents to get your bi-annual free market appraisals most are telling you that there isn’t much stock, the market is red hot etc etc, blah blah. *Reality has entered the chat.
Gone are the days when a property is opened up, ten contracts go out and we all live happily ever after. That’s right folks, you heard it here first…whilst it used to be really easy to sell houses…now it’s a different story.
Apart from the dream homes and A-grade listings the current market conditions are pretty challenging. How do I know? I’m in it about 9 days a week.
The only thing at record highs right now is the amount of tyre-kickers floating around at opens and the number of listings online that have been ‘updated’.
To save myself from potentially ruining my sales business I am proud to say that we have had plenty of sales in recent weeks and expect more of the same ahead but folks, 90% of these deals are hard to pull together.
The apparent issue is buyer confidence. I just can’t work it out, rising interest rates, the cost of living is at record highs and Donald Trump is playing battleship in the Persian Gulf (I wonder if he plans to call it the American Gulf).
Right now you should only be taking advice from agents who are experienced in all kinds of markets and have the courage to cover all of the possibilities before signing you up. For example, buying before you sell right now is pretty risky. I’m not saying don’t do it but I am saying you have to protect your tail if you do (or if you have loads of spare money ignore the above).
*File note, claiming twenty years of real estate experience on LinkedIn just because you have changed a lock and have watched two seasons of Million Dollar Listing doesn’t count…you know who you are.
It’s definitely not all doom and gloom but it is an environment that is unpredictable and hard to pick. We have had sales in the past few months where we were surprised by the result…for completeness I mean good and bad surprises so before you bet your house you need to consider what options you have if things don’t go according to plan, they might, but…you get my drift.
To round this note out, if you have the capacity to buy and have been on the sidelines in the last couple of years then roll on up, this is your market. My first boss used to always say ‘the time to buy is when interest rates are high’.
And if you did have a tough time last time you were looking for a new home I think you will be pleasantly surprised to find that this time around the agents are going to call you back.
Until next week,
David Murphy