Since we all may have holiday giving on our minds, I thought I would translate the housing market to gift buying and giving. You likely are seeing “For Sale” signs in your neighborhood. You are talking to co-workers who just bought a house. So how is it that some buyers are not finding the home they want? You hear about low inventory but not sure how that is possible when it seems you see signs all over! Let’s put this in other terms that may be easier to relate to this time of year.
You want to buy a sports jersey for a friend. This will be easy! Just go to the store and buy it. It is there! A whole row of them! But as you search, you cannot find the right size. Or the right team. Or the right price. The sales rep says this is the last of the inventory before year’s end. Certainly you must be able to find an option that will suffice for a gift? Stop right there. Would you really dare buy a Packers jersey for a Vikings fan just because it is the only one in their size?* Of course not. And much like that unthinkable gesture, a buyer would not buy a home that is not the right price, location or condition, only because it is the only one on the proverbial department store rack.
What buyers need right now are sellers to bring their homes on the market now and not wait for the Spring market. Sure, we can wait for the jerseys to be restocked at the store. But why wait when the demand is here now? Sellers may want to step up their game (pardon the pun!) and consider exactly why they are waiting. Once the holidays are packed up, out of town guests have returned home, and the New Year has begun, prospective sellers may realize now is as good a time as any to come on the market. Demand is here now. Buyers are ready. So sellers, let’s suit up and get out on that field!
*Disclaimer: This reference to these two teams is not meant to cheer on or exclude any one team over another but simply used as an example 🙂