Fear of Missing Out on “Something Better”:  Buyers Who Fret About What’s Going to Come On the Market After They Buy

“He who hesitates is lost.”

“Look before you leap.”

–Famous — and contradictory — proverbs.

While it’s true that “you never step into the same river twice,” that doesn’t mean the river’s overall features change dramatically.

riverOn the contrary, its water temperature, volume, and current(s) likely remain highly constant minute-to-minute.

When things do change, it’s often possible to anticipate when and how much, based on such variables as anticipated snowmelt, seasonal rainy periods (or lack therof), and so on.

Real Estate Parallels

In the same vein, while it’s true that the mix of homes for sale is constantly changing, the overall housing market exhibits a day-to-day constancy that belies the constant turnover.

By analyzing such things as new listings, showing activity, recently closed transactions, and inventory, it’s possible to say quite accurately where a given housing market is at any given moment, and anticipate where it might be headed.

That constancy (at least in the short-run) should give comfort to Buyers (especially first-timers) who are anxious that “the perfect home” will magically appear on the market . . . the moment they’ve committed to buy something else.

From “The One” to Multiple Good Candidates

When dealing with such Buyers, I encourage them to think in terms of finding multiple homes that could conceivably work for them vs. finding “the one.”

It’s also the case that, should a truly stellar “For Sale” home suddenly appear on the market at a mouth-watering price, other Buyers are likely to notice, too.

Result:  multiple offers are likely to drive the home’s price up to (or beyond) market prices, eliminating the potential for a bargain.

(Economics-minded readers will recognize that as a feature of an efficient market, which housing in big cities usually is).

Efficient Markets

Finally, I like to remind Buyers that the risks of waiting cut both ways:  it’s no more fun to rue “the one that got away” than it is to regret not waiting for something better (reminiscent of dating, however, it’s funny how once a person (or home!) is spoken for, sometimes all their flaws somehow magically disappear).

Bottom line?

Once Buyers have done their homework and know the market, when they find a stand-out home at an attractive price, it’s smart to go after it . . . before someone else does. 

About the author

Ross Kaplan has 19+ years experience selling real estate all over the Twin Cities. He is also a 12-time consecutive "Super Real Estate Agent," as determined by Mpls. - St. Paul Magazine and Twin Cities Business Magazine. Prior to becoming a Realtor, Ross was an attorney (corporate law), CPA, and entrepreneur. He holds an economics degree from Stanford.

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