It's Real Estate, Not Rocket Surgery

Today one of our clients "got it".  You know what I mean -- when the light goes on and someone is home (you, probably).  She is selling her home in a woeful market, but she also needs to relocate to save her commute and her sanity.  She suddenly realized that she's going to "buy low" too, as an acceptable consolation to the insult of selling low.  We found her a place that is newer, upgraded, closer to work and family, and will, eventually, increase in value beyond her current property.

The lesson here? 

It's all relative when you're shopping in the same market -- sell high, buy high... sell low, buy low.  It all comes out in the wash.

"Nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so..." 
- from Shakespeare's Hamlet. 
The same can be said of the real estate market's innate volatility, in this decade, or any other.  Whether the market is up or down is no reason to put off selling and is certainly no excuse to shy away from buying.  Here's why:

BUY in a "DOWNWARD" Market - Even if your property ostensibly loses "market saleabilty value" you were intending to live there at least 5 years (or you should be).

SELL in a "DOWNWARD" Market - It's only going to get worse if you hold onto it, and if you do, then you'll need about 5 years to get your sale value back up again.  Might as well get what you can.  Then go find yourself a better-but-underpriced property and sit on it.

BUY in a "UPWARD" Market - Even if you overpay in a bidding war (like Florida in 2004), your value is rising steadily anyway.

SELL in a "UPWARD" Market - Yes, you could make more if you wait a year, but "timing" the market is a fool's bet, even the experts tell you it really can't be done with certainity.

So what do you do? 

Well, for goodness sakes don't listen to the random news media, who are invested in speculative musings for the sake of ratings and ad revenues; they simply don't have the deep view of the facts.  Ask a Realtor.  Seriously.  I'm not just saying it because I am one.  Realtors (the good ones anyway) actually know the current market better than anyone else.  They are neck deep in it every single day.  They can tell you precisely when the market is right for you.

Thanks for listening - keeping it simple and straightforward...
Claire Wynters, Realtor