Maryland and Virginia Real Estate and Homes Blog

HOME PRICES ARE DOWN, BUT ARE HOME BUYERS READY?  FIRST TIME HOME BUYERS ARE GETTING IN THE MARKET.  RESALE AND MOVE UP BUYERS ARE UNABLE TO SELL THEIR EXISTING HOME.  PROBLEMS THAT HAVE NEVER FACED OUR MARKET IN THE PAST. 

BANK FORECLOSURES A GROWING BUT NOT SIGNIFICANT PERCENTAGE OF HOMES LISTED FOR SALE.

FINDING DIAMONDS IN THE SAND.  OR, FINDING READY BUYERS IN THE CROWDS OF FENCE SITTERS.

WHO IS BUYING A HOME TODAY?  There are several types of home buyers today.  Knowing who they are will help
agents target their time and advertising money to viable market areas. 

IT ISN’T THE 1980S ANY MORE.  The days of personal promotion for agents are over.  Just touting your own personal
experience isn’t going to impress home buyers who have the benefit of a wealth of real estate information at their fingertips,
thanks to the Internet.  Many home buyers today believe that they have all of the information they need from the thousands
of “how to buy real estate” articles on the Internet. 

Think of the many web pages available to consumers about:

• Sellers have a hard time adjusting to falling prices.
• Many home owners are 100% leveraged and can’t reduce their price.
• Agents recommend higher than market prices to gain listings.
• Home owners still believe that their house is better than average.
• Buyers need more cash and better credit scores than at any time in about 7 years.
• Taxes have risen in many areas.
• Insurance rates have risen in many areas.
• There is no good real estate news in any media accessible to home buyers. 

HOMES ARE STILL SELLING

Homes are selling in many real estate market areas but at much lower numbers than at any time since about 2003. 
Between 2003 and 2005, prices escalated as much as 90-110 percent in many areas.  However, since 2005, when
prices started falling due to reduced demand (market force), prices are still out of the price range for many buyers who
find qualifying harder (market force), cash needs higher (market force) and sellers intractable (market force). 

FINDING THE DIAMOND IN THE SAND

Who are the home buyers today?  Think about it. Many consumers don’t understand the real estate market and
they know it.  Many buyers are looking for the bargain of the century and they say so.  Many buyers don’t know
the market.  Who are these buyers?

First time home buyers.
Foreclosure buyers.
Relocating home buyers.

First time home buyers are new to the market and ask for help.  They rarely even pretend to know what they are
doing and seek help from agents who are friendly, helpful, patient, have good qualifying skills, are willing to show
buyers homes to acquaint them with what their money will buy.  If you have the personal skills to work with first
time home buyers, you can sell homes.  Target first time home buyers in your advertising. 

Foreclosure buyers.  Foreclosures on the market today are not the old HUD homes that we remember from years
past.  Due to the mortgage mess, many luxury homes, new homes and recently built homes have been foreclosed
and offer wonderful opportunities for buyers who will buy if they can find a home that is considered a great buy.
Foreclosure buyers are not just investors any more.  Target foreclosure buyers in your advertising.

Relocating home buyers. Families with children in school select areas in which to buy based on transportation
alternatives for employment and schools.  Relocating families will buy rather than rent at higher numbers than
any other group.  Families with children are looking for stability.  They do not want to enroll children in public
school only to move them again a year later. These families will look at more homes and consider more areas, but,
with patience and helpful agents, they will buy.  Target relocating home buyers in your advertising. 

We can help home buyers get off the fence by knowing our market and understanding how to help buyers.