Every one wants a deal in real estate, but what if you can’t find one? I spoke to a buyer the other day who called me, she had been looking for a house for over 6 months but she commented that there were just no deals out there.
What’s your idea of a deal I asked?
She responded that everything in her price range seemed to be selling for asking price or over, and that her previous real estate agent couldn’t find her a deal…
To be fair I can understand the dilema she faced, I mean everything is negotiable right? Yes and No. When we are in a prolonged sellers market with low interest rates and plenty of buyers, it seems that deals are few and far in between, and they are, if you’re idea of a deal is getting paying below asking price.
The reality is that in order to get the price significantly down on a listing, one of two things needs to be happening, 1. the market has tanked and there are no buyers (still waiting for that one…) 2. There is something seriously wrong with the home (stigmatized property, drug lab…ect) or 3. A more realistic scenario that the home is grossly over priced and you are lucky enough to be the offer that causes the seller to crack and except the lower price. I personally think there is a better way to to go about buying a home and that is by finding a Smart Buy.
Smart Buys in Real Estate have noting to do with the sold to ask ratio, or how much the other side looses in order for you to gain. It’s about making an informed choice, of discovering a home that will go up in value over the long term and beat the market. How do you find a home like this you ask? This is accomplished many times by knowing the future trends affecting demand in a particular area. For example, Is there a change happening in the area that will make it more in demand? Is the population growing, shrinking, aging or some other demographic visible trend? What will the area look like in 5, 10 or even 15 years? These are the questions you want to answer because in there is the key to finding a deal. Being armed with up to date data and doing the proper research will help you uncover the hidden gem. Now that’s a deal in my books.
There are No Deals in Real Estate, But there are Smart Buys! Agree or disagree, I’d love to hear your comments.
