Change

by Doug Love

You know the real estate market has changed when:

  • A real estate sign goes up in a yard with the “Pending” or “Sold” rider already attached. Word gets out like a rifle shot when a new listing is about to hit the market.
    Inventory is tight. Buyers and agents are in high-performance mode. They can write an offer, sign it, and deliver it faster than a speeding bullet.
  • You go to an open house and the realtor on duty tells you it’s already a pending sale. You are told the seller wants to market the property for “back-up offers.” You become infuriated. “What kind of game is this?” you ask. “Why would I write an offer on a house that is already sold?”
    Now hold on a minute. Financing is not a slam-dunk these days, and sales fall apart. Many a buyer in back-up position has moved into first place and closed the deal. Patience, persistence and perseverance pay off.
  • An ad on the radio announces “The House Flipper” (as seen on TV!) coming to your area for a live seminar; a one-time opportunity for you to learn how to make a fortune in real estate without spending a dime of your own!
    Seven years have come and gone since we’ve heard the old “make millions in real estate with no money down” drumbeating.
  • You drive by a construction site. A foundation for a house is newly poured in the dirt. You call the number on the real estate sign and find out the house is sold under construction, and two more are sold un-built. You’re told you are welcome to make an offer on a house to be built in the future.
    Builders are coming back. Pickup trucks are parked on jobsites. Lumber trucks and concrete trucks are clogging up traffic.

You know the real estate market has changed when television newscasts, radio interviews, and newspaper columns are discussing the same thing- a change in the real estate market.