People sitting on the fence is evident from the east coast to the west coast. The negative publicity about real estate has made the reluctant buyer a nationwide phenomenon.
Although prices around the country have slumped, here in QAC the average (sold) price of $450,202 in October 2007 sold 11.3% less than October 2006 while the median (sold) price of $352,000 in October 2007 sold 5.35% less than October of 2006, albeit at a slower rate. That means that people holding out for bargains here may be disappointed.
People are trying to time the market, with the mindset: “If I buy now, the price could decline in the short run." It seems that a major factor in this housing market is fear.
- Fear of the unknown, fear of making a mistake of buying too high, only to find the exact home is dropped another $10,000.
- Fear of not buying now, and missing the low interest rate.
- Fear of buying today thinking they won’t qualify for a mortgage and afraid the builder will lower the price so they may “lose” their down payment because their house is worth less.
- Fear felt by the contingency buyer. If their home does not sell, they will surely miss out on some of the best deals in years!
And as far as that goes, many buyers who won’t get off the fence will surely miss out on perhaps a chance of a lifetime.
Some builders have raised the bar around here, by offering cars as incentives! That will get somebodys attention, you would think?
The National Association of Home Builders said that until a year ago, customers used to make two visits to sales offices before buying. Now they're making four or more visits.
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