If we could line up every buyer who has the desire, the ability, or the need to make a new purchase and put them all in a group to make that move this week, what kind of shock waves would surge through the market and what effect would it have on the economy? Well? This much I know, there would be a lot of happy people and there would be a huge bunch of folks in a position to be big time winners.
This week is the Parade of Homes, it is President's Day Week End, and it is Valentine's Day. But it is also a time for buyers to get with the program and "make hay while the sun shines."
There has not been a better time for buyers of real property than today. We have absolutely the most favorable interest rates known for decades. The inventory and selection are extremely wide and deep. The choices and variety of product are vast. Price ranges are immense. Sellers are motivated and moved by necessity in many cases. Markets are plentiful and reflect most all of these denominators locally, regionally and nationally.
As buyers line up to make this move, a little caution is appropriate. There are many are out for the fast buck, the big buck and the easy buck. Scammers are alive and well. Motivation should be tempered with wisdom, prudence and practicality. Evaluate priorities. Know the limitations. Let needs be met ahead of wants. Calculate costs as well as benefits. Make careful and realistic projections and expectations of future value. Learn from the current conditions and don't think you are immune or exempt from pitfalls and reverses you see happening to others.
Forecasters are having a grand time reflecting indicators from their crystal ball. But the results experienced during these tough times of the last few years have provided an interesting set of facts and statistics from which to make predictions for the future. When the interest tables are reviewed for the past fifty years, it is easy to see that rates are more likely to rise than they are to fall. When the inventory lists are examined, it is obvious that there needs to be a lot of sales made to bring the market back closer to an equilibrium point with supply and demand. Then one has to monitor the workings of price adjustment as these factors play out.
Things are changing. The presence of consumers in the market place is increasing. The showing activity is getting more brisk. Offers are being made that are getting the attention of sellers. Buyers are being more serious and realistic. They do seem to be lining up for the parade, not just for this week, but to be players in the recovery that is just around the corner. The next few weeks will be important in identifying those who will be positioning themselves to be profit takers of tomorrow by the action they take today. May the march commence.
St. George REALTOR® Jim Coleman is Associate Broker and Partner/Owner of ERA Brokers Consolidated. He Specializes in Residential, Investment and Commercial Real Estate, holding National Designations of Accredited Buyers Representative (ABR), Certified Residential Specialist (CRS), Resort and Second Home Property Specialist (RSPS), Seniors Real Estate Specialist (SRES), Certified International Property Specialist (CIPS), GREEN Property Specialist, and Certified Short Sale and Foreclosure Resource Specialist (SFR). You can contact him by e-mail at Jim@JimColeman4Homes.com. Call: (435) 627-5411; or write: Jim Coleman, 201 East St. George Boulevard, St. George, Utah 84770. This and other columns are available at www.WinningTalk.com/articles.