Two days ago I had an interview on camera for News 4 with Lynda Baquero. It’s always special to appear on TV, and there were some fairly good sound bytes that made it to the air. What didn’t make the broadcast is what I’d like to share here.
The premise of the piece is that transactions are down, and the line of questions in our discussion was why sales are down and if that means that the market is down. Like many things in housing, the answer is not without some complexities. In 2009, sales were down because consumer confidence was low and what few willing buyers were out there faced a financing picture that was downright draconian. Back then, sales were low because banks weren’t lending and money money was scarce. Homes sat on the market unsold for months and sometimes years.
That is not the case today. Sales are down now because the available inventory is too low to serve the demand. Buyers face stiff competition for scarce available properties. I’ve opined why there are so few homes for sale before; the thrust of this piece was who the winners and losers are in the current market, and that’s clear. Sellers are on top, and buyers have an uphill battle.
So the questions moved to what advice I have for buyers in this market, and only one of my remarks survived the cutting room floor. Here are all the recommendations I made for prospective home buyers:
- Get your financial bona fides together first. If you’re getting a mortgage, get pre approved. If you are paying cash, document your proof of funds.
- Hire a buyer agent. This is the largest transaction of your life and shouldn’t be a do it yourself project.
- If you don’t have the winning bid, express your willingness to be a backup offer. Not every bid that is the seller’s first choice performs for a variety of reasons, and the listing agent will often check on the backup offers to see if they are willing to step in. If you haven’t found a place yet, this can help a deal fall in your lap.
- Have your lawyer and inspector chosen and ready. Being the bride instead of the bridesmaid is awesome, but sellers have no patience with someone who asks them to wait on scheduling the inspection or has no attorney lined up yet to go over the contract.
- If you have family or parents helping with finances, get them involved early in the process.
We had a brief discussion off camera about how the distress and foreclosure niche is also undersupplied, and Ms Baquero said that no one had shared that subject before. She was quite a pleasant professional in person. The whole thing was done and wrapped inside an hour.
I’ve had my beefs with how the media reports on the real estate market over time, but Lynda showed a curiosity about the market that was refreshing. There was no agenda outside of bringing a professional’s point of view to the public. Refreshing!
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My Appearance on News 4 New York with Lynda Baquero
Two days ago I had an interview on camera for News 4 with Lynda Baquero. It’s always special to appear on TV, and there were some fairly good sound bytes that made it to the air. What didn’t make the broadcast is what I’d like to share here.
The premise of the piece is that transactions are down, and the line of questions in our discussion was why sales are down and if that means that the market is down. Like many things in housing, the answer is not without some complexities. In 2009, sales were down because consumer confidence was low and what few willing buyers were out there faced a financing picture that was downright draconian. Back then, sales were low because banks weren’t lending and money money was scarce. Homes sat on the market unsold for months and sometimes years.
That is not the case today. Sales are down now because the available inventory is too low to serve the demand. Buyers face stiff competition for scarce available properties. I’ve opined why there are so few homes for sale before; the thrust of this piece was who the winners and losers are in the current market, and that’s clear. Sellers are on top, and buyers have an uphill battle.
So the questions moved to what advice I have for buyers in this market, and only one of my remarks survived the cutting room floor. Here are all the recommendations I made for prospective home buyers:
We had a brief discussion off camera about how the distress and foreclosure niche is also undersupplied, and Ms Baquero said that no one had shared that subject before. She was quite a pleasant professional in person. The whole thing was done and wrapped inside an hour.
I’ve had my beefs with how the media reports on the real estate market over time, but Lynda showed a curiosity about the market that was refreshing. There was no agenda outside of bringing a professional’s point of view to the public. Refreshing!