Over the last few years, home prices have skyrocketed while the amount of days homes for sale remain on the market have dropped substantially. While the amount people are willing to pay over asking price has come down some, the prices of homes have actually increased along with mortgage rates.
So, the question is how do you get the house your family needs in this market? It could take a change in perspective.
Focus on your needs, not your wants
If you’re struggling to buy a home during a seller’s market, you may need to sacrifice things you want but don’t need.
Sit down with any other decision makers in your home-buying process and start a must-have and nice-to-have list. Be honest when making this list.
Perhaps you could deal with a longer commute to work if it means extra square footage. Maybe you don’t need two extra rooms for a home gym and office if you’re able to combine them into one room.
Talk to your real estate agent about this list. This may spark some ideas for them and get you into the right home for your family quicker.
Have an open mind
This does not mean settle!
Sometimes people have a picture of a home in mind and nothing else will make them happy. Or they see a house they love and either their financing wasn’t in order yet, didn’t have the time to visit right away, or another interested buyer was willing to pay more.
Whatever it may be, fixating on that “ideal” home can create an impossible-to-reach benchmark that creates unnecessary frustration during an already trying time.
Look for easy fixes
You’re scrolling through homes for sale and you come across a listing with the number of bedrooms, bathrooms, and square footage you need. Better yet, it’s in budget.
But you go to see the home in person and the yard has less than zero curb appeal. It’s littered with terrible lawn ornaments and ugly, overgrown flowerbeds. Inside, there’s a couple holes in the wall from door handles of hastily opened doors. You wonder if you’ve time traveled because the wallpaper couldn’t have been picked by someone from the 21st century. At least the carpet isn’t the worst you’ve ever seen.
Does this sound familiar? Did you consider the fixes to all of the above could be cheaper than buying a house that doesn’t look like that?
As long as the home is structurally sound and your home inspection doesn’t uncover an exorbitantly expensive repair, you should consider a home like this if you’re in a seller’s market and need to move soon.
A home’s lawn and garden can be brought back to life or changed. Wallpaper can be taken down. Different paint can be applied. Small damage can be repaired cheaply.
Try not to focus on how the current homeowner has decorated or laid out the house. Instead, remember those things you have to have for your new home. By keeping an open mind, you reduce stress and allow for suitable alternatives that fit your family’s needs.
Having the right real estate agent helps!
When you have a real estate agent that knows the area, the market therein, and truly works for you, shopping for homes goes much smoother.
The agents at Partin Real Estate have been helping people buying and selling homes in Bolivar and the surrounding Missouri Ozarks for over 30 years now. We welcome you to check out our reviews on Google and if you like what you see, give us a call or send us a message here.
