Buyer's Market Schmyer's Market

I'm quite certain my readers abandoned me long ago, but I have nothing else to do on this Saturday night, so thought I'd dust off the blog and spill out some recent news.


So here's a brief recap since I last wrote for those of you not up to speed:

Passed the Series 7 test and started a second and full-time job as a financial advisor.
Rented out my condo in uptown.
Moved in with my boyfriend (and his roommate) while we try to sell their house.
Oh, and just found out I wil be moving to to a wonderful house on 12 acres in Waconia, MN to start a vineyard in approximately 3 weeks (which I wil get to later).

Other than that...not too much. :)

I can think of a million topics to write about right now, but one in partcular sticks out to me. While the dire media tells us...houses prices are falling, falling, falling...we're headed for a recession...buyer's market...home sales down....let me give you a few examples of why MY recent experiences in real estate tell me otherwise.

Situation/Client #1: Without complicating it too much, the jist of this situation is that I wrote an offer for some clients last October to buy a house. Since that time, and while under contract, the seller has decided she doesn't want to sell. This would be fine if both parties were laid back or if my clients recognized there are other homes on the market, but no. They want the ONE house (out of the 250 that fit their "criteria") that the seller is unwilling to give up. So, now I am stuck in the middle of a legal battle while both buyer and seller consult attorneys and send letters back and forth arguing the validity of the purchase agreement. Most sellers are dying at the chance to get a nibble on their house...and this lady refuses to sell it (after having had it on the market for 6 months). And my buyers want what they can't have. So much for that buyer's market.

Situation/Client #2: I have set a personal record of "second showings" with this particular buyer. I've shown this couple about 100 house (slight exaggeration) and every time they find one they really like, we go look at it for a second time (you know, to bring the parents through, yadda, yadda), and then find out that an offer has just been accepted on the house before we are even able to make an offer. This has happened approximately FOUR times in the past two weeks (no exaggeration). So much for that buyer's market.

Situation/Client #3: Showed several downtown condos to some buyers moving from Denver. After spending several weeks with them, I found them the least expensive brand NEW condo in Minneapolis that fit their needs perfectly. Others that compared had already sold for OVER one hundred thousand dollars MORE than what this one was listed for. It was a GREAT buy and incredible investment. They thought about it over a weekend and decided they are going to rent because they were concerned the market wouldn't turn around and they would lose money. WHAT? They basically would already have ONE HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS of equity once the market turns around (which it will) and would be able to get it at an incredibly low interest rate. But what do I know. I'm only a realtor who knows the downtown Minneapolis market. Think people aren't influenced by the media? Prime example.

Situation #4: Lastly, the situation involves me and the house in Waconia. Dating back to mid-December when boyfriend and I found a house and land that we both love and seemingly PERFECT for what we would want (see image above). And price was right. Charming house, room to grow, lake views, great soil for grape growing, incredible acreage, and next to a grassy airstrip where his pilot brother can fly his family in from Wisconsin to visit. Not to mention it's close to my sisters and parents which gives me a handful of babysitters when the time comes! :) We were dealing with a bank which was complicated and S.L.O.W. We made an offer December 12th, found out the day after Christmas that another offer came in (so much for a buyer's market), so we increased our offer, waited, waited, and WAITED and were asked to make our VERY best offer about three days ago. Once we did, we found out we came in higher than the other offer! It was a long and frustrating road, and we may have to live on ramen noodles for a few years and spend some more Saturday nights at home (ahem) based on how much we increased our offer over that time. But I don't care...it's totally worth it. I'm starting a vineyard with my honey...who else can say that??! And even though I can't grow a plant for the life of me and don't know a thing about grapes other than I like to eat them and drink them, at least I have some marketing, sales, and financial planning skills to bring to the table.

Sorry, went off into my lala land. But as you can see, I have no good examples of this being a "buyer's market." While rates may be low and there is a large inventory of homes on the market, I think that simply there are not many sellers with enough equity in their home to be able to sell at a price that makes the buyer feel like they are getting the great deal the media is telling them they should. And those that are priced well are often bank owned or relocation properties where the prices are so great that they get multiple offers, which drives up the price again.

That's my take at least.

Any and all welcome to Waconia for some wine...anytime after Feb. 25th. But I don't want to jinx it. Keep your fingers crossed for a smooth and successful closing!