That is a question every seller needs to clear in their minds and deal with it accordingly.
After selling, are you buying a different home. If so, are you buying similar, upgrading or downsizing. The market is down and if you downsize, you will most likely be getting less in the deal because of the lower prices. If you are upgrading...you will be coming out on top. If you stay with the same home just in a different area it will most likely be a wash.
When you buy the next home, is your new bank loan a better interest than what you were paying. It should be close to the same or better. For the most part, again this is a win.
Are you selling and not buying. This is the worst scenario. You are selling in a depressed market and you are not making up any of that in your new living arrangements.
not everyone who is selling today is losing money compared to the hay days. Those that are getting more house and better interest may be coming out ahead.
You need to look at what YOU are doing and make the decision that is right for you.
When I first read your title I thought about my clients that have told me that "buyers" have come into their home when they were in the shower, etc. Guess that isn't what you meant! :)
I agree with you - a seller needs to look at the numbers and see what scenerio is best for them. Even if they are selling and not buying - it might be the right situation if they need to get out from under a mortgage payment, taxes & utilities, etc. Thanks!
It is surprising that a lot of sellers dont think of this. I know many do know this too.
Bill, I know we have talked in our meetings for several years about counceling our sellers to this fact.
Joy, I have gotten to a home and had a seller in the shower. Wife didn't tell husband aout the showing.
Chuck...Most are tuned into wshat they are not making on the sale
Vern...Yes and it has worked well.
This has been my point with sellers throughout all the madness - it all depends on what you are doing on the other side. In addition, sellers need to think about what they are putting on hold - "waiting for the market to come back" - there's value in quality of life that can't be assigned dollar value.
I love having this discussion with my sellers that are buying up because they will do fine - they will lose on the sell and make it up on the buy. For those that sell, take a loss, and don't buy, then that will be more difficult.
William - that is a great awakening. Some just think that this is a depressed market. For those who up going up in house is a great timet o sell and buy.
There is always something going on the Real Estate biz.....it never sleeps
Initially downsizing was a big problem in our area. Until recently - the condos everyone wanted to "downsize" too remained stubbornly high in price. They were still in the hands of builders who were still demanding pre-crash prices. Meanwhile, 60% of of their potential buyers had seen their home values tank and buying in was either lateral or UP-sizing. So they were stuck looking longinly at the lower cost of living and the easier lifestyle, but were unable to make the move because they would have had to take on a bigger mortgage. Offsetting all the savings.
It was one of the major reasons our particular housing market got mired in the muck. Turnover was at a crawl. Basically, builders tried to "control" the market to protect their assets. They dug in and just refused to sell for anything resembling market value. The condos just sat and sat and no one would negotiate. This frustrated empty-nesters who were trapped in their big homes. Bottom line - the builders would have done better to cut their losses earlier in the decline. By letting things go for several years they eventually had to slash prices.
This stalemate continued for 3 miserable years and was an enormous bottleneck for any movement in our market. Eventually the prices had to come down to nearly match the decline in the SF home market, and now the condo market is showing signs of life.
Some people are actually making some money....because of the different markets. In our area, the more expensive homes have not rebounded as much as the lower ones...those making an upward move will come out a bit ahead in terms of buying power.
I have tried eplaining that to buyers before and they just don't seem to get it. Thanks for the plain english.
I, too, have had this conversation with many sellers -- what is the best option for you right now? And yesterday I got a call from someone who is considering selling because they are so far under. It's tough because you can hear the struggle in their voice -- they love the home and area they're in but just need to sell and give themselves some time to get back on their feet. Tough situations continue... (Congrats on the feature!)
You described life in Real Estate as it is today. Some Sellers (Buyers) get it and some seem to not want to get it.
So true, so true William. If one is swapping out it probably is isn't gaining.... just washing it out. But, seriously, it's uncomfortable when the buyer walks in a home with someone in the shower!
That is a great explaination fo the risk and gains. Now if the people just understand it.
William, if you didn't make so much sense people may actually understand you :)
William,
It's important to do two deals in the same market. Hopefully, with a little winning and some losing, you break even.
Brian
And some people are buying and waiting to sell their home. They are the fortunate few, but they want to take advantage of the market for buying and waiting for it to rebound before selling.
William, you bring up a very good point. If you aren't buying something else (or even if you are, but you are downsizing) you are getting hurt in this market. But if you are selling, and upgrading, then you are still coming out ahead.
Congrats on the feature! You make some excellent points. This is still a buyers market, interest rates are low and going lower, so buyers really do have the option to make the best decision possible. Thanks for sharing and have a great weekend.
If people really look at their motivation for moving, then they can more easily define the pros and cons of each home they inspect. Well done!
It's always good to make sure your sellers have a plan of what they are doing and to make sure you give them the options on each avenue available to them.