The Unmotivated Unrealistic Buyer, Circa 2017,
or, “Waiting for Godot, Home Buyer Version”
In a housing market characterized by an ongoing, acute shortage of inventory, it’s an all too familiar lament: frustrated Buyers (and Buyers’ agents) who bemoan that they “just can’t find what they’re looking for.”
I’m certainly sympathetic — to a point.
However, as the months (and years!) go by, it turns out that at least some Buyers’ underlying problem isn’t a lack of housing choices, but an unrealistic budget.
In Realtor parlance, they’re simply a variation of what’s known as an “unmotivated Buyer.”
The Too-Long Home Search
So, someone only willing (or able) to pay $425k for a $500k house will never find what they’re looking for.
Long before the home drops into the low $400’s, someone will snatch it up.
Or, more realistically, given today’s housing market, drive the home into multiples, and end up paying over ask, leaving even strong, motivated Buyers in their dust.
Conversely, unrealistic Buyers who limit themselves to only viewing homes within their budget invariably find them wanting.
Estimating Value
While it’s impossible to say exactly what any given home will sell for, it is possible to say that “this house is worth $500k, plus or minus 3% – 4%,” “that house is likely worth between $260k and $275k,” and so on.
Unless, of course, the home in question is truly unique — something usually associated with (much higher) upper bracket homes.
If the frustrated Buyer genuinely happens to be in the upper strata looking for such a home, fine — then they’re entitled to legitimately complain that “they just can’t find what they’re looking for.”
However, most Buyers in those financial circumstances have the means to simply create what they want, i.e., build new construction.
Frustrated Buyer Options
There’s no shame in not wanting (or being able to) plunk down $500k, or $200k, or $800k(!) for a home today.
A home purchase is a major financial commitment, and — as recent American homeowners know all too well — prices can go down as well as up.
But, if current prices appear too rich, prospective Buyers would seem to have two choices: 1) adjust their housing expectations downwards (effectively accepting less house for their money); or 2) wait for prices to fall.
Option #3 — endlessly waiting for a home to be egregiously mis-priced, then somehow go unnoticed by all other Buyers — is an exercise in futility (not to mention a prescription for Realtor burnout).
There!
I feel better . . . 🙂
P.S.: The irony is, if now-$500k houses ever do drop to the low $400’s, there are likely to be other economic consequences as well — like a weaker economy (and higher unemployment), a spike in interest rates, a drop in the stock market, etc.
Of course, if the Buyer has to sell their current home, they’re likely to fetch less for that, too.
See also, “The #1 Bane of Buyers’ Agents ” and How to Avoid It (“Them,” Actually)” ; “Serious Buyers: Top 10 Signs“; “Unserious Buyers: Top 10 Signs“; and “Is the Buyer Serious? Here’s One Clue.“
