Ten Reasons why it is a good time to buy!
- Selection. There are about 150 resale homes on the market in Basking Ridge. Regardless of the price range a buyer desires, there are plenty of houses from which to choose. Just a few years ago the resale inventory dropped below 70 units. A buyer was forced to make compromises if they were going to locate the home of their dreams. There is a great selection of single family homes, condos, and townhouses. .
- No Bidding Wars. In 2005 I had one client that made an offer on six homes before they “won” a property .. They lost the others to the ‘feeding frenzy’ that existed. Other buyers bid the properties up substantially from the original listing price. There were escalation clauses where buyers authorized their agents to outbid other offers by thousands of dollars. There is no competitive bidding in this buyer’s market.
- You can make an offer. A few years ago when you made an offer, the only question was how high above the list price could the buyer reach in hopes of being the best offer on the table. Today the sell price list vs. price ration is about 95%. A seller will not be insulted if you make reasonable offer.
- You can be patient and breathe. In the hot seller’s market that existed everything was rushed. Find a house before other buyers did. Hurry up and make the offer. Today a buyer can take their time. Look at several homes and think about your decision for a few days.
- Due diligence. In this market a buyer is can take the time to obtain a home inspection, pest inspection, and appraisal. In a few years ago many buyers waived these contingencies in order gain an advantage over other buyers with multiple offers.
- New Construction . In the not too distant past buyer had to ‘play games’ if they wanted a new home. There were lotteries and waiting lists in order to obtain new construction. Builders now may have thousands of new construction ready for immediate occupancy. Plus the buyer may be able to negotiate the price!
- Repair requests are reasonable. After a buyer completes a home inspection, they are allowed to submit a repair request to the seller. In the past a seller might insist the home was sold ‘as is’. Many times, there were back-up buyers waiting for a primary buyer to upset the seller whose home was increasing in value almost daily.
- Fewer investors. In the past the market was flooded with investers buying and “flipping” houses for a quick profit. These non-owner occupied buyer caused the market to inflate and affordability to decline. Mortgage fraud came into the picture. It’s a great time to buy without having to compete with hundreds of prospective landlords.
- Location, location, location. Today’s buyers can find homes closer to work and in primary areas with the best schools.. In the past buyers had to look in secondary areas farther away from amenities in order to find affordable homes. In this market, reasonably priced homes are within biking or walking distance to schools, mass transit lines, and work .
- Real Financing is available. The zero down, no doc, adjustable, sub-prime loans are gone. Fixed rates are back. FHA financing, first time homeowner bond programs, special loans for first time home buyers, teachers, and police officers available to those with good credit. It’s a great time to buy real estate!
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January 19th, 2010 | 
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